CHRISTINA DUKE | staff writer
The match against Point Loma Nazarene University on Saturday, March 28, was the first match this season when the women’s tennis competed without their team captain, Sheryl Bon.
On Monday, March 23, Bon, suffered an injury mid-game in a home match against California Baptist University.
After reaching for a volley, Bon’s feet twisted and she sprained her right ankle.
Because of the unfortunate incident, Bon was forced to forfeit her games, resulting in a 4-5 loss for the Cougars against the Lancers.
In addition to being team captain, Bon plays in the no. 1 singles position and is only the second Cougar in Azusa Pacific history to receive National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American recognition as a freshman.
While Bon hopes to be back on the court in a few weeks, the amount of time she will be out is still undetermined.
“If I had to miss the rest of the season, that would be really bad,” Bon said.
Nonetheless, Bon has received a lot encouragement from her teammates.
“They’re all very supportive, but they are going to have to step it up and they’re ready for that,” Bon said, “One girl told me they all said, ‘Let’s do it for Sheryl.’”
According to head coach Mark Bohren, despite the recent mishap, the season has been fantastic so far.
“We have all freshmen and sophomores starting and it’s pretty steady,” Bohren said.
After Bon’s injury on Monday, March 23, the women were able to defeat the Sea Lions with a final score of 5-4.
“It seems like we were behind all day, playing without Sheryl [Bon],” Bohren said. “Sometimes, teams play better and sometimes play worse when dealing with a top player's injury. Our girls stepped up for the win. We decided just to play our hardest and we ended up getting the win.”
While Point Loma claimed victory over the top three singles matches the Cougars earned the win on the day after winning the bottom three matches.
Sophomore Marie Tanaka won 6-3, 6-0 at no. 5, freshman Leah Hoffee won 6-2, 7-5.
Junior Jessalyn Lau won 6-1, 7-5 at no. 6.
Lau competed in Bon’s absence and made a contribution by winning her matches against the Sea Lions.
“[Without Sheryl] the team definitely had to pull together,” sophomore business administration major Marie Tanaka said. “We went into it with the mentality that each [of us] had to play better and it was a good win.”
The win against Point Loma brings the Cougars’ overall record to 10-6, 9-3 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC) for the season thus far.
With only six matches left until the NAIA Championship there is still work to be done this season.
Last season, the Cougars were a NAIA quarterfinalist.
With several seniors graduating the past couple of years, the team is in a transitional period of rebuilding.
“It’s one of those growing years but there’s no excuses to lose because of that,” Bohren said.
Coach Bohren hopes the team can finish in the top half of the lead, make it to nationals and win a couple rounds.
“For their youthfulness, they really play a good brand of tennis,” Bohren said. “We have a lot of big hitters and good attitudes.”
Women’s tennis plays their next match on Saturday, April 4 in an away game against GSAC opponent Vanguard University.
