Final road trip for Emporia State Tennis takes them to Kansas City

Men's Tennis | 4/10/2023 12:26:00 PM

Emporia State Hornet Women (4-11, 1-5 MIAA)
at Rockhurst Hawks (8-9, 1-2 GLVC)
Tuesday, April 11 • 2:00 p.m. • Plaza Tennis Center • Kansas City, Mo.
Emporia State Hornet Men (5-8, 1-3 MIAA)
at Rockhurst Hawks (10-7, 2-1 GLVC)
Tuesday, April 11 • 2:00 p.m. • Plaza Tennis Center • Kansas City, Mo.
Up Next: Women vs. Northeastern State RiverHawks
Friday, April 14 • 2:00 p.m. • Kossover Family Tennis Complex • Emporia, Kan.
Men vs. William Jewell
Sunday, April 16 • 1:00 p.m. • Kossover Family Tennis Complex • Emporia, Kan.

FINAL ROAD TRIP
Emporia State heads to Kansas City for their final road trip of the season. The men and women both take on Rockhurst at the Plaza Tennis Center on Tuesday.
 
LAST SETS
Both the Emporia State men and women were edged by Newman with the men falling 4-3 and the women 5-2 on Thursday at the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.
The women dropped all three doubles matches and Karen Santiago withdrew due to an injury at #1 singles to put the Hornets in a 2-0 deficit.  Angelina Gnezdilova cut the lead in half with a 6-2, 6-2 win at #3 singles and Paige Stranghoner evened things for Emporia State with a 6-2, 6-0 win at #5 singles.  Newman picked up a win at #4 singles and then Ani Zeikeidze pulled out a 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 win over Alexia Desmet at #2 in a match that lasted nearly two and a half hours to clinch the dual win.  .
The men's dual came down to the final match before the Jets pulled it out 4-3. Theo Belmonte and Harrison Brown won 6-3 at #2 doubles while Gwendal Mazuay and Jaden Tredway prevailed 6-3 at #3 to give the Hornets the first point.  Dominik Simunovic made it 2-0 with a 6-0, 7-6 win ar #1 singles before the Jets answered with three set wins at #2 and #3 to even the dual. A win at #4 that went to a tiebreaker in the second set gave Newman a 3-2 lead.  Mazuay evened the dual at 3-3 with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 win at #5 making the #6 singles the deciding match.  Sergio Vera lost the first set 6-2 and took the second set to a tiebreaker before falling 7-0 as Newman won the dual.

THE COACH
Former Hornet CeCe Peyroche took over as the interim coach for Emporia State in December. She is 5-8 with the men's team and 4-11 in women's action. Peyroche was 23-15 in singles play during her three years as a Hornet before moving into the graduate assistant position last year.  

A LOOK AT THE HORNETS
The Hornet women are 4-11 overall and 1-5 in the MIAA this year. Emporia State is a combined 14-15 at the #2 and #3 positions of singles play with five players competing in those slots this year. Karen Santiago is 3-2 at the #2 spot and 3-4 at #3 with an overall record of 6-8 in singles play.  Angelina Gnezdilova is 2-1 at #3, 3-3 at #1 and 1-4 at #2 for an overall record of 6-8 as well. Paige Stranghoner it 6-6 overall and 2-2 at the #3 spot. Alexia Desmet is 2-2 in #2 singles and 2-6 at #1 for an overall record of 4-8.
The Hornet have used ten different doubles combinations this season. Karen Santiago is 4-4 in doubles play with a 3-1 record at the top of the order, teaming with Alexia Desmet for a 2-1 record and Paige Stranghoner for a win as well. Andrea Santiago and Caroline Henry have been paired together the most. They are 6-8 overall with a 3-2 mark at #2 and 3-6 at #3 doubles.
The Emporia State men are 5-8 overall with a 1-3 mark in MIAA/GAC North Division play. Harrison Brown in 5-5 on the year, going 1-1 at #3, 2-3 at #4 and 2-1 at #5 singles.  Dominik Simunovic has played the top spot in 11 duals with a 4-7 record on the year. Gwendal Mazquay is 4-5 on the season with a 2-2 mark at #6 singles while going 2-3 at #5.  Theo Belmonte is 4-8 on the year with a 3-5 mark at the #3 position.
The Hornets are 10-15 in #2 and #3 doubles but have gone just 1-12 at the #1 doubles spot on the season.  Brown is 6-5 in doubles play this year. He has teamed with Simunovic to go 4-3 this year with a 3-3 mark at #2 and 1-0 record at #3 doubles while going 2-2 at #2 doubles with Belmonte. Mazquay and Jaden Tredway are 2-2 at #3 doubles.

KNOW THE FOE
The Rockhurst women are 8-9, 1-2 in the GLVC. They are 1-3 against MIAA teams this season with the one win coming against Washburn back in October.  They have lost eight of their last 11 matchesstaring with a loss to Washburn in the rematch on February 25.
The Hawk men are 10-7 overall and 2-1 in the GLVC. They are 0-4 against MIAA teams this season. They have won five of their last seven matches, including their first win over Drury since 1996.

NEXT SERVE
The Emporia State women will wrap up MIAA play this weekend starting Friday against Northeastern State and concluding on Saturday against Central Oklahoma. The Hornet men will end their season on Sunday against William Jewell.  All three duals will take place at the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.