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Men's Tennis setting sights high at NAIA Nationals
MOBILE, Ala. – Their mission sounds simple: become
one of four teams left standing in a field of Goliaths.
Yet when the No. 11-ranked Shorter University men’s tennis team heads to the 2011 NAIA Men's Tennis National Championship that begins tomorrow, Tuesday, May 17 at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Ala., the Hawks will have to be on guard against a David if they want to realize that mission.
That’s what Shorter head coach Orville Adams is making sure his team understands when it returns to the national event for the second straight year and squares off against an unranked Hastings (Neb.) College squad that will be more than eager to assume the role of giant killer.
“That’s the beauty about sports this time of year,” said Adams, who saw his team earn a second-straight berth in the national tournament after advancing to the finals of Southern States Athletic Conference tournament where they were stopped short of a title by long-time nemesis and No. 3-ranked Auburn-Montgomery.
“You all start 0-0 and you just can’t take things for granted,” the coach added. “We know that Hastings is coming with the mind-set they have nothing to lose. We can’t be overconfident and that’s what I’ve been telling the guys every day.”
There is little doubt that Hastings will come to the single-elimination tournament with a plate full of confidence.
In claiming just the second national berth in the school’s history – the last trip the program made to the NAIA season-ending event came in 2000 – the Broncos won the Great Plains Athletic Conference Tournament championship with a thrilling upset over top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan.
“We’ve got to be prepared,” said Adams about the first-round match that will be played Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. ET. “When we get there we’ve got to be ready to play.”
The last time the Hawks were in action was at the SSAC tournament when Shorter (12-4) knocked off the University of Mobile and No. 9 William Carey University before its showdown with AUM.
In the national tourney, the Hawks will use the same lineup.
Five sophomores from France head up the top five singles positions – Guillaume Ledrap, Badr Cherradi, Eric Tucoulou, Thibault Langeard and Bastien Russo.
Cherradi and Ledrap earned 2011 SSAC All-Conference honors.
Former Rome High standout Grayson Jones is scheduled to round out the lineup at No. 6 singles, but a toe injury has the junior questionable for the national tournament. Standing ready to step in if Jones can’t play is another local product, Cody Carr, who prepped at Coosa High.
All seven Hawks will be called upon to give Shorter immediate points in doubles, which are played before the singles matches. In the top doubles slot will be Cherradi, who will team up with either Jones or Carr. Tucoulou and Ledrap fill out the No. 2 doubles positions, and Russo and Langeard will combine to play at No. 3 doubles.
Should Shorter handle Hastings in the opening round, the Hawks will advance to the second round for the second straight year and will take on No. 6 Westmont College out of California at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
The winner of that match earns a trip to the national quarterfinals and a potential matchup with a team Shorter is all too familiar with, AUM.
And that’s exactly where the Hawks want to be.
“This year we want to go further than we did last year,” said Adams. “We want to be one of those last four teams.”
