Royal Purple

Issue date: 4/16/08 Section: Sports

Lowe [Click to enlarge]

Heading into the annual Final Four meet, the Warhawk men's tennis team was the heavy favorite, having won the match's title the past three seasons.

UW-Whitewater left the YMCA Tennis Center in Oshkosh the same way it arrived, taking home the match's title for the fourth consecutive season with wins over UW-Oshkosh, UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse by a combined score of 23-4.

In the opening meet against UW-Oshkosh, the 'Hawks doubles teams swept their matches to lead the way in an 8-1 victory. The win was a historic achievement for head coach Frank Barnes, who won his 100th match at UW-Whitewater. Barnes became the second men's tennis coach in school history to record 100 wins, and was the quickest to the mark.

Despite the individual recognition, Barnes humbly passed the praise to his players.

"I don't want to stress the impact of a coach," Barnes said. "Wins are done by players. Give them the credit. I wasn't even aware of the mark until someone pointed it out. We just try to go out and win every match."

Just win is what the Warhawks did. Led by singles players Alex Lowe and Tim Moller, who were undefeated in the final two meets, the team defeated the UW-Eau Claire Blugolds, 7-2, and the UW-La Crosse Eagles, 8-1.

Against the Blugolds, the 'Hawks were down 2-1 following the doubles portion of the match. However, the momentum permanently sided with the 'Hawks when Lowe and Moller won tough singles matches, propelling the team to the overwhelming victory.

Barnes pointed out Lowe's and Moller's wins as the key point of the weekend, and complimented the composure of the team.

"Lowe and Moller came back to win their matches, which inspired the team," Barnes said. "We won well and played smart tennis. We attacked when we should have, and allowed the other players to make the mistakes."

Senior captains John Reed and David Stefanik were among the Warhawks that did not make many mistakes during the weekend. The two were undefeated in their singles matches and paired up for an 8-4 doubles win in the match against UW-La Crosse.

Reed said neither he nor Stefanik felt the pressure of being favored.

"We knew we were the favorites," Reed said. "We play like we're supposed to win, and we play with our all. Whether we're the favorites or the underdog, we come to play."

The Warhawks will look to continue their winning streak today, as they play Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill., at 4 p.m.

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