MOBILE, Ala. - No. 18/No. 18 seed William Woods University's (14-9) season concluded in Round 1 of the 73rd Annual NAIA Men's Tennis National Championships, losing 4-0 to No. 15/No. 15 seed Dillard University (13-13) Tuesday at Mobile Tennis Center. Although the Owls didn't earn a team point,
Jesper Seger and
Aoi Ooka won in No. 2 doubles.
"The guys fought hard; the score line does not reflect the true match as it could have been a 4-3 loss had it played out fully," William Woods tennis coach
Abigail Lemberger Hughes said. "I am happy with the mindset going into it, sadly, it just didn't go our way. Overall, it's been a great year, and the guys should be proud of their accomplishments."
After William Woods's No. 1 doubles team of
Robbie Schorr and
Noah Burton lost 6-1, Seger and Ooka won 6-2 at the two line to set up the tight three-slot matchup as the doubles point decider. Unfortunately for the Owls,
Thomas Geukemeijer and
Cole Horton fought hard but fell 7-6 in that contest.
The Bleu Devils won the first three singles matchups to conclude to knock out the Owls: WWU's Horton lost 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 at the two line, Seger 6-1, 6-4 at the five slot and Geukemeijer 6-4, 7-5 at the four spot.
Playing a strong schedule as it has throughout the past few seasons, William Woods went 14-9 overall and 4-0 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference in head coach Lemberger Hughes's first season. The Owls won their third straight conference title and seventh out of a possible nine, no postseason in 2019-20 due to COVID-19, since the program's inaugural season in 2015-16.
