Men's tennis battles at ITA Regionals; freshman Raymond is top UNK performer
Posted by Administrator on Oct 08 2008
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Photo by Callie Erickson
Freshman Casey Colbert, of Cheyenne, Wyo., serves an ace during his doubles match Friday. Colbert was paired with freshman Josh Raymond of Elkhorn as UNK's number one doubles team.

By Callie Erickson
Antelope Staff

Competing with almost a brand new roster, the UNK Men's Tennis Team proved they could fight as they battled through the rounds of the Wilson Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament this past Friday through Sunday at the Harmon/Sertoma and Harvey Park tennis courts.

UNK freshman Josh Raymond of Elkhorn was the only Loper to make it to the quarterfinals round in the singles bracket. Breezing through the first round, he defeated Nate Pearson of Metro State (6-0, 6-0).

Moving into the second round of singles play, Raymond upset fifth seed, Rashad Khamis of Mesa State (6-3-, 6-4). This victory brought Raymond to the quarterfinals where he rallied against third seed, Bea Fresquez, of Colorado State University-Pueblo. Raymond played a close match against Fresquez but fell short of the win (6-3, 6-4) to advance him to the semifinals of the tournament.

"The two of us [Raymond and Fresquez] played pretty close throughout that entire match. He'd get a game or two then I'd get a game or two so the score was constantly going back and forth between our favors," Raymond said.

As a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference team, the Lopers will see more of CSU-Pueblo later this spring.

"I'm sure Fresquez and I will meet up again once our spring season begins," Raymond said. "By then we'll both have more practice time devoted to our sport, so who knows what the score cards may read the next time we're matched up."

Along with Raymond, freshman Casey Colbert of Cheyenne, Wyo. and freshman Randal Bachle of Murdock, find themselves a spot on the men's roster. Freshmen Kyle McBride of Kearney and Ko Muroga of Nagoya Aichi, Japan also join the 2008-2009 Loper squad. McBride and Muroga did not compete in the tournament this past weekend.

Coming off an ankle injury, Bachle won his first round of singles 7-5, 6-2.

Colbert and Raymond were paired up for doubles. The two lost their first round match but bounced back defeating teammates Jason Lescelius of Columbus and Michael Ambritz of Lexington 8-3.

Returning from previous seasons and now in the top line-up are seniors Aaron Angst, of Salina, Kan., and Ambritz, juniors Tony Lopez of Omaha, Josh O'Brien of Kearney, Noriaki Naruse of Miki Town, Japan, and Lescelius.

The Lopers seem to have a line up full of experience and dedication, but most importantly each player has a large tennis background.

As the men continue to prepare for their upcoming spring season, you can count on them practicing their forehands, backhands and serves. They will also be working on meshing together the many personalities and styles of play the members bring to the team.