Update: Due to winter weather, this weekend’s tennis matches have been canceled. Both the JBU men and women are scheduled to take the court next on Friday, Mar. 4 in North Newton, Kansas, against Bethel.
On Friday, Feb. 11, the 2022 side of the season kicked off for the tennis teams at John Brown University. Both the men and women made the trip to Conway, Arkansas, with the men playing three matches in the span of roughly 24 hours, while the women played two. After dropping their opener against Dallas Baptist, the JBU men stormed back to snag a come-from-behind win over Hendrix. Heroics from senior Woody Woodring allowed JBU to start a run that juniors Carson Thoma and Blake Cunningham were able to follow up, as Thoma got the win in the four spot, while Cunningham clinched the match for John Brown.
Their next matchup against Ozarks was equally exciting and took some resilience from the Golden Eagles. Ozarks took a 4-3 lead with just the fourth and sixth slots left, but the Golden Eagles were able to find a spark in Thoma, who evened things up at four with a gritty three-set win, while Cunningham delivered with the match on the line and clinched JBU’s second win of the weekend. Following that, JBU faced Evangel on Feb. 19. Strong performances in doubles play allowed JBU to snag the doubles point, which proved to make the difference in their 4-3 winning effort over Evangel last Saturday in Springfield, Missouri. The win was their third straight and pushed JBU to 5-1 overall. When discussing the team’s early success, head tennis coach Mike Campbell pointed to their mental toughness as key.
“The men have been incredibly strong mentally,” Campbell said. “Winning in three sets, newcomers stepping up and winning their matches, winning the very important doubles point, they have really demonstrated mental toughness, and that has been the difference.”
Meanwhile, the JBU women were able to get the 2022 side of their season off to a great start, as well. First, they faced a tough test against Hendrix. Freshmen Ellie Swan and Erin Kuykendall were impressive in their first battles in 2022, scoring wins in singles play. Sophomore Caroline Hillock and junior Havynn Prude also scored wins in singles, while senior Sydney Smith and sophomore Abigail Woodring teamed up to cruise to an easy 8-2 win in doubles play. Once the dust settled, John Brown was on the receiving end of their first victory in 715 days, taking the contest 5-4 over Hendrix. JBU breezed by Ozarks by a score of 9-0 the next day to go two for two on the weekend. The team’s winning streak extended to three, with a 4-3 win over Evangel on Feb. 19. There were plenty of bright spots in that one, as Swan, Woodring, and Hillock picked up singles wins, while JBU went three for three in doubles to collect the doubles point. There are improvements across the board that can be seen throughout the JBU women’s tennis team in the early going in 2022, and Campbell has been impressed with the team’s mindset over these last few weeks.
“I think I could sum up our mindset in two words currently, excitement and confidence,” Campbell said, adding that, “This team has marked improvement over the last couple of years and our veterans can sense that. The addition of an amazing recruiting class has really given us something to build on for the future. I believe that our players believe they deserve to win, and that belief matched with their continual 100 percent effort has equaled some early success.”
Both teams will return to the court on Friday, Feb. 25, to take on Bethel at the Matrix Racquet and Fitness Club in Lowell, Arkansas. Following that, a Senior Day rematch against Evangel looms large for this Saturday. Saturday’s match will be the first time the Golden Eagles have played in Siloam Springs this season. Going into the weekend’s matches, Campbell is looking for the Golden Eagles to further the momentum they’ve gained from their strong starts while honoring the team’s seniors that have meant so much to the program these last few years.
“We are going to celebrate four amazing leaders on our teams,” Campbell said. “They deserve a big crowd to come out and support them, and they deserve to close out senior weekend with a couple of victories.”
Photo courtesy of Karen Penner