Latest News

Tennis teams end seasons with early losses in Horizon League Tournament

Joe Kennard
Sports Writer
kennard.8@wright.edu

Their seasons took different paths but ended up with the same finish: a loss in the Horizon League tournament.
For the Raider men, their 4-0 loss to Cleveland State in the semi-finals capstoned an 18-5 season. They had high expectations after securing the #1 seed and Wright State’s first Horizon League regular season title.
From the moment the chair umpire gave the ready for play signal, the Vikings took it to the Raiders. In singles, WSU lost three of four matches while two were unfinished. Those matches included Martin Arguello’s 7-5, 6-4 loss to Yannick Goossens, Hayden Joblin’s 7-6-6-2 loss to Matt Kuelker and Michal Lyzwa’s 6-3, 6-3 loss to Ali Shabib. Only Lauri Makikalli (6-3, 2-6, 3-0 over Nolan Marks) won a singles match for WSU.
The doubles teams of Joblin/ Jamison Clark and Myles Harris/Evan Neuman dropped their matches as well. Makikalli won his second match of the day when he partnered with Arguello, but the Vikings clinched the doubles point.
While Green Bay lifted the championship trophy after beating CSU the next day, WSU also took home some hardware.
Arguello won the conference’s Player of the Year award after posting a 27-11 record. It’s the first time a Raider has won the honor.
His teammates Joblin (19-11) and Makikalli (18-7) both ended up with Second Team All-Horizon League selections.
The last trophy went to Head Coach Sean McCaffrey, who won the Horizon League Coach of the Year Award.
McCaffrey took over a program in shambles. After a 5-16 record in ’08-’09 (his first season), the Raiders improved each year under his watch. The early tournament loss wasn’t the crescendo McCaffrey wanted, but he’s elevated WSU to a new level.
That success hasn’t carried over yet to the women’s team, which McCaffrey also coaches.
They lost in the first round of the Horizon League tournament to Butler 4-3 on Friday and ended a 10-13 season. For a team that looked overmatched throughout the year, their near-miss showed how far McCaffrey guided them.
But even McCaffrey couldn’t inspire them to overcome a tough Butler squad.
In singles, only Alex Bastock (6-4, 6-2 over Gabrielle Rubenstein) and Abby Lewis (6-3, 7-5 over Angelina Qin) won for WSU. Masha Peresetsky (6-4, 6-3 to Stephanie McLoughlin), Chelsea Girgash (6-2, 6-3 to Laura Shull) and Amy Nini (7-5, 6-3 to Cam Thompson) all lost in straight sets. Kayla Tuscany came close to adding a third singles win for WSU, but lost to Caroline Hedrick 6-7, 6-4, 6-3.
Though the Raiders won the doubles point after Bastock/Tuscany and Hines/Nini won their matches, the Bulldogs success in singles clinched their victory.
Those losses may hurt McCaffrey in the short term, but the future of both teams is bright. Each squad loses only one senior (Arguello and Peresetsky) and have the experience of tournament berths to build on.
Joblin and Makikkali are contenders to take over Arguello’s spot as the men’s leader. The rest of their teammates are young, yet flashed enough potential to ease the transition away from the Arguello era.
While Peresetsky’s toughness and competitiveness will be missed, her teammates Tuscany and Bastock leave the program in capable hands. Bastock, a freshman, posted a winning record in her first season and could be a future contender for Player of the Year in the Horizon League.
The 2012 season didn’t provide the stirring finale McCaffrey hoped for. But a fire rose within both teams this year and greater success looms ahead.

Verified by MonsterInsights