The DePauw men's and women's tennis teams both lost close games to Div. II Ferris State University last Thursday, but overcame the losses on Sunday.
The Tigers fought hard but came up short, losing the men's match by just one point and the women's match by two. The men's team rebounded well on Sunday, brushing aside Indiana Tech and Rose-Hulman University by a score of 9-0 in both games to improve their season record to 8-1. The women's team will be back in action March 20 against No. 3 ranked Emory University.
Head tennis coach Scott Riggle recognized saw the loss as an opportunity for improvement in the team. Riggle said that Ferris State, who is coached by a friend one of his friends from his playing days, is one of the best teams in Division II.
"We weren't maybe as mentally or physically tough as we needed to be to beat a team of that caliber," Riggle said.
Riggle further believes that the loss to Ferris State motivated the men's team to excel on Sunday.
"[The loss] woke them up a bit, showed some areas we needed to improve in and they did a great job of working on those areas."
The improvement was obvious on Sunday as the Tigers steamrolled their opposition in shutout victories.
Hunter Schouweiler played for the men's team in all three games. He is the men's captain and only senior on the team.
He said that Riggle explained to the team how the Ferris State game was a moment to show the younger players that every match takes hard work.
"The team definitely came more focused and ready to play on Sunday," Schouweiler added.
Both the men's and women's teams will play at Emory this weekend.
