Nine days ago, the Wabash tennis team dropped its match 8-1 to rival DePauw. Friday, the Little Giants will need a big turnaround if they want to advance pass the first round of the NCAC tournament.
"We have to realize that the season is not over," Coach
Jason Hutchison said. "I put them in front of tough competition on purpose. There's very few walk-over matches in our schedule. Keeping the motivation high, keeping good chemistry, and understanding it's not over until it's over is what we're focusing on."
Seventh-seeded Wabash (11-15, 1-3 NCAC) will mix things up in an effort to upset the second-seeded Tigers (13-6, 4-0 NCAC).
"We have to be a little more aggressive in doubles,"
Wade Miller said. "We have to do some unorthodox things — instead of going crosscourt, sometimes go down the line. Since they beat us so easily last time, their heads might not exactly be in it. We just have to come out and fight, and hopefully we get them on an off day."
The players will bear the burden to execute the new attack plan. They will need confidence to hit difficult shots.
"Our guys have to believe in their shots," Hutchison said. "It seems like when we have chances to close out points, games, sets, or matches, we don't trust our shot selection so we tend to be more tentative. When you're playing against good competition, it doesn't get rattled in those situations."
The passiveness is evident in close matches. Wabash is 2-7 in matches decided by one or two points. Hutchison will rely on his seniors to guide the team through the tight, pressure-packed matches in postseason play.
"My seniors are never going to go away," Hutchison said. "A testament to that was on Friday when we had a very good chance to lose 9-0 to Denison and we hadn't been swept by anybody this year. Wade lost the first set 6-0, but he came back and beat a regionally-ranked opponent."
Miller started the comeback when he started believing in his shots.
"I wasn't trusting my shots," Miller said. "I was kind of slowing my swing down and pushing it somewhat. We need to believe in our shots though. If they're out, they're out — who cares? Sooner or later, they'll fall in."
Miller finished the regular season 11-12 overall while fellow senior
Nate Koelper ended at 13-12.
Hutchison hopes Miller's play will rub off on the younger guys that make up a bulk of the roster. Mazin Hakim, Michael Makio, and Graham McMullen each hold a .500 record or better with McMullen leading the way at 10-4 overall.
"They really need to step up," Miller said. "They know they have to fight and hopefully they don't fold under the pressure of big matches in the conference tournament. They've played well up to this point so I'm sure they'll be alright."
The Little Giants will take on the Tigers at 9 a.m. Friday at host school Denison University. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday with the championship match set for 10 a.m. Sunday.
