As the fall schedule starts to wrap up for men’s tennis, every opportunity on the court is another chance to solidify skills and judge opponents before the spring season – and ultimately – conference action begins.

The Waynesburg University men’s tennis team hosted Muskingum University this past Saturday, Sept. 16 edging the Muskies for their first win of the season 6-3.

Men’s tennis is different than most collegiate sports with a season that is split into the fall and spring semesters. Head coach Ron Headlee is trying to find out where his team is at before it gets to the more important part of the season – spring.

“For me in the fall, it’s trying to find out what we need to work on going into the spring,” said Headlee. “The spring season is what really counts for them and it just gives us a good feel for what our team needs to work on over winter time.”

The second-year head coach of both tennis programs was pleased to see many of his players come together for a win early in the season.

“They put their best two guys on their second line, which they’ve done that before to us. That was key for us,” said Headlee. “I thought [senior] Adam [McKnight] and [sophomore] Tanner [McKnight] getting the win at second doubles against their top two guys was big for them. [Junior] Jonah [Cooper] and [junior] Josh [Denham] didn’t have much trouble at the number one line. At third doubles, [junior] Brian [Drake] and [freshman] Frank [Sullivan] are still inexperienced at that part. They’re getting better.”

The Yellow Jackets started the match on a high note, taking two of the first three doubles matches against the Muskies. Cooper and Denham rolled in the first doubles matchup 8-2, while Adam and Tanner McKnight gritted out a 9-8 against Muskingum’s aforementioned number one pairing of junior Levi Hall and freshman Yozabro Igari.

Heading into singles with a 2-1 lead, Waynesburg rattled off three straight wins to solidify the team victory over Muskingum.

Cooper defeated Hall at first singles 6-2, 6-0, Denham defeated Matthias Wild 6-1, 6-3 at second singles and Adam McKnight picked up a forfeit win at third singles. Drake, a first-year player despite being a junior, rounded out the Jacket victories with 6-4, 4-6, 10-5 decision over Muskie junior Caleb Patton.

Headlee was excited to see Drake come away with a win early in his first season

“[He’s coming along] real well,” Headlee said. “That was good for him, just for his confidence – he needed a win. He has the shots in practice, he just isn’t confident enough to hit the shots in the matches yet. That’ll come with more playing time he has. I really like him, I think he has a lot of skill for tennis and feel for the game. He’s been a good addition for us this year.”

The team plays host this weekend to both Washington & Jefferson College and Marietta College for a tri-match. The Yellow Jackets will take on the Presidents at 10 a.m., and then follow up with a match against the Pioneers at 2 p.m. Concessions will be available at the matches.

“We know we’re definitely going to have stronger competition this weekend. W&J and Marietta will be a good test for us,” said Headlee. “[The team is] playing well, they’re right with everybody so far, so we will see how this weekend goes.”