HORNET MEN'S TENNIS HITS THE ROAD TO PLAY FRIENDS

Men's Tennis | 3/5/2020 8:54:00 AM

Emporia State Men (1-1, 0-0 MIAA)
at Friends Falcons (1-2, 1-0 KCAC)
Thursday, March 5 at 2:00 p.m.
Wichita, Kan.
 
A SPRING IN YOUR STEP
The Emporia State men travel to Wichita to take on Friends in non-conference action.
 
THE COACH
Les Stafford is in his first season as the head coach at Emporia State. He has spent the last 15 years as the head tennis pro at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kan.  He is a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Certified Pro and has taken junior players to regional and national level competition. He spent 14 years as the head coach of the women's program at Wichita State from 1990-2004 and was a four-time conference coach of the year for the Shockers.  He went 178-143 in dual match play with four conference tournament championships and one regular season title. Stafford was a four-time NAIA National Tournament qualifier during his career with the Hornets. He went 20-5 in singles while going 20-6 in doubles in 1979.
 
A LOOK AT THE HORNET MEN
The Hornets are 1-1 on the season after defeating William Jewel last weekend to open the spring season.
The Hornet men went 7-8 last year with a 1-3 mark in conference play.  They have four returners, including two who earned All-MIAA honors last season
 Andy Graf, a sophomore from Mascoutah, Ill., was 6-3 on the year with a 2-1 mark in MIAA play to earn Second-Team All-MIAA at the #6 singles spot.
Taylor Nelson was 8-5 with a 2-2 record in MIAA play to garner Honorable Mention All-MIAA at #5 singles. The sophomore from Christchurch, New Zealand also picked up the league's Sportsmanship Award last year.
This is the first year the MIAA and Great American Conferences have joined up for consolidated schedule.  The four members of the MIAA will make up the North Division while the five members of the GAC will make up the South Division of the partnership.
  
A LOOK AT FRIENDS
The Falcons are 1-2 on the season with their lone win coming in KCAC action against Oklahoma Wesleyan.
 
UP NEXT
The next scheduled action for both teams will be Saturday, March 7 when they play host to Ottawa University. First serve is set for 11:00 a.m. at the EHS Courts.