The Waynesburg University men’s tennis team lost to Franciscan University 9-0 on Monday afternoon, making them 1-9 overall and 0-5 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.  

Doubles partners Shane Hughes and Josh DeFries lost 8-3 in a tough match that would be the closest of the day. 

Hughes talked about what the team needs to do to continue to play close matches and come out on top. 

“I think one of the biggest things that we need to focus on is mitigating mistakes that we can control,” Hughes said. “We just need to make sure we are giving ourselves a chance to earn each point by not giving our opponent any easy shots.” 

Hughes also mentioned the importance of practice throughout these next few days to prepare for their upcoming match against St. Vincent College on Thursday. 

“In these next two days of practice, we will need to work on specific mistakes we have been struggling with and gain consistency and confidence in fixing them,” Hughes said. “I imagine we will also put an emphasis on doubles play to keep growing our team chemistry.” 

Senior Ethan Lown also competed in a doubles match on Monday with his partner senior Adam Huckestein. Lown commented on how the team can progress and improve their record. 

“All season I’ve been encouraging our guys to try and limit unforced errors and just battle every point,” Lown said. “This message remains the same for St. Vincent. Personally, I think our level of play is rising, so I hope that shows in the box score on Thursday.” 

Lown also spoke about who has stepped up more this season and should be someone to look out for. 

“Each of our guys displays strengths, but I’ve been impressed with [Josh] DeFries,” Lown said. “He has improved a lot in the past few weeks and has recently stepped into our #3 doubles position.” 

The men’s tennis team’s next matchup will be at home against St. Vincent on Thursday at 4 p.m.