As their regular season comes to an end, USI’s Men’s Tennis team hosted senior day on Saturday against Tennessee State University. Senior players Quinten Gillespie and Trent Ross were recognized for their achievements and hard work during their collegiate careers.
The tennis team entered the match off a win against Tennessee Tech University and is 5-8 overall and 2-1 in conference play. Their opponent, TSU, sat at 5-11 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
It was a rough start for USI in the doubles portion of the match. Axel Sabourin, junior, and Jy Hibbert, freshman, lost 6-4. Eytan Michaeli, sophomore, and Gillespie went toe-to-toe with their opponents in the beginning, but the duo could not hold on and lost 6-3. This resulted in an automatic withdrawal for Junior Mathys Bove and Freshman Adam Koon, as USI had already lost the doubles matchup for the day.
Some success was found during the singles matches. Hibbert won his first set 6-1 and the second one by default. Gillespie ended his senior night with a hard-fought win. The match went back and forth with the score 6-3, 6-7 and then 1-0 to clinch the victory,
Overall, USI fell 2-5 on singles. The men’s tennis team looks to bounce back and prepare for the Horizon League Championship on April 25-27 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is the first time the men’s team has made the tournament since transitioning to Division 1.