MICHELLE JUERGEN | editor-in-chief
It’s a new season with new courts for the APU men’s tennis team who defeated Point Loma Nazarene 5-4 Saturday, Feb. 21.
The players were excited to start off the season with a first-ever home game against the Sea Lions on the new blue-and-green courts in the Munson and Bavougian Tennis Complex.
According to junior Matthijs Bolsius, the players decided to have the courts painted blue-and-green so that they would resemble the courts at the U.S. open.
Saturday’s victory improved the Cougar’s overall record to 2-1.
The win put the men’s team 1-1 in the Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), a feat that Coach Mark Bohren was proud of.
Azusa Pacific’s men’s tennis GSAC record for 2008 was 6-2 and they have 9 GSAC titles and are ranked No.4 in the NAIA.
“It’s Big. We would've been 0-2. It would've been disastrous for us. We needed that win,” Bohren said. “We'll be competitive with everyone.”
Bohren has been coaching and playing for about 20 years and was excited to see his players able to play for the first time on the new courts.
“Maybe it does not need words. I don't know how to put a word to it, but it was exciting,” Bohren said of the historical day.
Bohren was happy his players have a place of their own to play matches at, but acknowledged the newness of the courts may take a little getting used to.
“It's not really a home-court facility for us yet because we're getting used to it ourselves, but as the season progresses, I think it's going to be a huge home-court advantage. It motivates [the players] to work hard,” Bohren said. “Hopefully people will watch a great brand of tennis. It's very athletic, it's competitive, so hopefully they'll treat the facilities beautifully and the courts will play to their potential as well as the players.”
Bolsius won his singles matches against Point Loma’s Curt Wheeler 6-4, 6-1.
Bolsius also played doubles with partner, junior Mathias Weber and defeated Wheeler and Landon Hilker 8-4. Following the win, Bolsius expressed his enthusiasm for the new season.
“Other teams keep bringing in foreign players, but we’re younger and we have more desire,” Bolsius said. “Our goals for this season are pretty straightforward—we just want to make the most out of it, play our best, play our hardest and see what happens. We’re definitely a lot stronger this year.”
Sophomore Daniel Moore won 6-4, 6-3 against Trent Brown in singles.
Freshman Janosch Apelt defeated Point Loma’s Hilker 6-1, 6-2 in singles and with partner, freshman Jack Zapala defeated Jeff Nelson and Josh Nelson 8-5 in doubles.
Apelt, who is the oldest player on the team at 22, came to Azusa Pacific from Frankfurt, Germany after working as a nurse in a hospital for a year after finishing high school.
After not having much time to play tennis during his 12-months of hospital work, Apelt was pumped to get back to playing.
“Since I’m the oldest guy on the team, I think I should take a leadership position and get the points for the team so the other guys can play without pressure,” Apelt said.
Zapala expressed his enthusiasm to play on the team for the new season after playing four years as a starter in high school and his excitement of his doubles victory.
“It’s always good to win, but I think it’s better to win at home, especially the first time to win at home here since we’ve got a brand-new facility,” Zapala said. “I’m excited about getting some big victories under my belt, getting experience and hanging out with the guys. Competition’s always good in the GSAC—it’s going to be a good time.”
The Cougars play next on Thursday, Feb. 26 against Vanguard at the Munson & Bavougian Tennis Complex.
