THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Looking to build upon a successful fall, head coach Mike Gennette announced the Cal Lutheran Tennis 2019 spring schedule. The slate includes novel division II competition in Hawaii for the Regals and consistently tough conference matchups for both programs.
The Kingsmen finished the 2018 season with a 5-14 record overall and 3-5 in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference; while the Regals finished with a 5-12 record overall and 2-5 in SCIAC.
To kick-off the season, the Kingsmen start with a five-game travel stretch, starting with Pomona-Pitzer on Feb. 9, and ending with UC Santa Cruz on March 2. Next, a quick stop at home against Rensselaer before a neutral site match-up against Willamette at the College of the Desert on March 10.
Senior Yahn Gawrit, who earned First Team All-SCIAC last season, looks to continue his reign on the court after taking part in 16 duals and winning four matches. Junior Sebastian Ariza, who recorded five wins of his own and two in SCIAC in singles play last season. Ariza looks to take this streak into this groundbreaking season.
"Our main goal is to make the SCIAC tournament, which is our goal every year. Hopefully this team, that has really good new players, we can make it again. Also, to beat [Claremont-Mudd-Scripps] and Pomona, who are our 2 biggest rivals. The new additions to our team will definitely help us to achieve that" said Ariza.
After a match-up against St. Katherine's in San Marcos, Calif. on March 16, the Kingsmen bring themselves to familiar turf for a nine-game stretch starting with Salisbury State on March 20 and ending with Whittier College on April 12. The Kingsmen look to take another victory over Chapman University after their victory of 8-1 last season.
The last home match-up, and Senior Day, for the Kingsmen will be against CMS at home on April 20 at 9:30 a.m. The Kingsmen will take this opportunity to have a rematch of the SCIAC Tournament Semifinal from the previous season.
The Regals start with a four-game travel schedule, starting with Mills College in Oakland, Calif. on Feb. 9, and ending with Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. on Feb. 24. Starting on March 5, the Regals come home for a seven-game non-conference schedule. Some of the non-conference teams are Ohio Northern, Hardin-Simmons, and Puget Sound (Wash.).
The Regals have a rematch against Principia (Ill.) from their 2016 season, in which the Regals took the victory 7-2. The rematch takes place on March 22 at 6:30 p.m. Next, the Regals have another rematch against Pacific Lutheran (Wash.), in which the Regals took another victory in 2016 of 9-0. This rematch takes place on March 24 at 10 a.m. PST.
Being one of two seniors for the Regals, Christie Kurdys, who earned Second Team All-SCIAC last season, looks to take her four singles victories into the season and lead the rest of her young team into a new year.
Being part of an almost all-freshman Regals team, Kurdys felt that focusing on the group weaknesses makes it easier for the newcomers to improve.
"I just want everyone to succeed at what their weaknesses are. Not really focusing on winning as much as having a good time. We don't really care about win-win-win, as long as we focus on the weaknesses of the team, we will win," said Kurdys.
Second senior Sarah Seeman takes her seven victories into her final season as a Regal and wishes to make an impact on the team as a whole.
When asked about the season as a whole, "As team captain, it's very important for everyone to mesh together. Also, having a very large team and making sure people don't divide into cliques. It's been very fun so far" said Kurdys.
After the home stretch, the Regals travel to Honolulu, Hawaii for the first time in program history. They will face Hawaii Pacific on March 26, and Chaminade University on March 27 and 29. Hawaii Pacific finished the 2018 season with a 21-3 record overall and Chaminade University finished with an 0-8 record overall.
After Hawaii, the Regals start their SCIAC competition with Caltech at Caltech on April 5 and finishing with CMS at CMS on April 20. A conference highlight for both teams, the Kingsmen and Regals are looking to continue their 3-0 streaks against Occidental College this season. The Regals' last home match-up, and Senior Day, will be on April 19, against Chapman University at 3 p.m.
After the completion of the regular season, both teams have the opportunity to be invited to the Ojai Independent College Individual Championships in Ojai, Calif., from April 26-28. Following the individual championships, the SCIAC Team Championships are on May 3 and 4.
Full Men's Schedule: Kingsmen Tennis 2019 Schedule
Full Women's Schedule: Regals Tennis 2019 Schedule
Kingsmen Instagram: @kingsmen_tennis
Regals Instagram: @regals_tennis
Kingsmen Twitter: @CLUmTennis
Regals Twitter: @CLUwTennis
CLU Instagram: @clusports
CLU Twitter: @CLUSports
CLU Facebook: CLU Sports
Hashtags: #clusports #goregals #gokingsmen #ownthethrone #theSCIAC #ncaad3
Release by Kristen Swanson, Sports Information Student Assistant
