The Waynesburg University men’s tennis team hosted Presidents’ Athletic Conference rival Geneva College Monday. The Yellow Jackets found success in their doubles matches and several singles, but the Golden Tornadoes were able to come away win the victory, 6-3.

The Yellow Jackets fell to 6-9 overall, and the Golden Tornadoes improved to 13-4 on the year.

Head coach Ron Headlee said the team got off to a good start after a solid warm up.

“I could tell they were really focused,” Headlee said. “We were happy how we started out there.”

The Golden Tornadoes took an early 2-1 lead after the doubles matches. Juniors Jonah Cooper and Josh Denham gave Waynesburg their first points of the day when they earned an 8-5 win.

“They started out really well at the beginning of the year,” Headlee said on the duo of Cooper and Denham. “They were both on the same page [Monday] and were communicating well. They were controlling and they were getting up to the net and playing aggressively. I think they play better that way and they set the tone for the team, and we were confident in their shots.”

Cooper then finished his singled flight with a 6-2, 6-4 win.

“He’s real important,” Headlee said on Cooper’s impact on the team. “He was disappointed in his loss against [Washington & Jefferson April 20], 10-8, which he lost to their number one singles guy. We told him to stay focused and stay the course. He has grown a lot as a player and he has been able to instill that in our team as well.”

Headlee said Cooper is playing more consistent than before, which is a contributing factor to his success.

Senior Adam McKnight won his sets 6-4, 6-3 in the team’s number four spot. Headlee said McKnight has been steady this season, and he believes the senior will do well at the PAC Championships this weekend.

“He’s been real good to the team,” Headlee said. “Our team will not be the same without him next year, he’s a lot of fun to be around.”

Senior Andy Brunette battled back and forth in his singles match, but eventually lost a long 20-18 tiebreaker, which Headlee referred to as probably the longest tie break he has ever seen. Headlee said Brunette’s match was long, as the two competitors battled, returning tough hit after hit, but unfortunately Brunette came up just short in the tiebreaker.

The Yellow Jackets wrapped up their regular season yesterday when they traveled to Penn State Altoona. The event ended past publication deadline.

However, heading into the PAC Championships Friday and Saturday, Headlee said he is pleased with the Yellow Jackets season.

“I’m really happy with the way the team has worked, everyone has worked really hard,” Headlee said. “It will definitely be weird to play outdoors all season and then play indoors at PAC’s, but we’ll just have to adjust. There will be nets up and the hitting angles will be different. There will be nerves, there will be a lot of people but we just need to [ourselves] in a situation where we are forcing ourselves to do well.”