Taylor started this year from scratch with its men’s and women’s tennis teams, but head coach Josh Grubbs points to a culture-first foundation.
While the men have had a rocky start to the season, with an overall record of 4-8, they are prioritizing building healthy relationships with one another, along with strong work ethics.
“This year, I’m just looking for the kids to compete hard, be good teammates on and off the court,” Grubbs said. “I mean, that is our main focus, and that was my focus when I was recruiting, is just getting kids – we call them court rats – that just want to continually work hard, be on the court as much as possible, but they’re going to be great teammates on and off the court.”
Sophomore Graham Beukelman and freshman Josh Clegg each echoed this sentiment. Beukelman, one of the oldest players on the team, has embraced leadership. He said while the Trojans are working hard to hone their skills, right now they’re less focused on winning and more focused on fostering their culture.
Moreover, Clegg said because the culture is as strong as it is, he has been able to grow in his own faith and as a person.
“Our coach is definitely a Christ follower, so he always pushes that in practices, and also our boys do a team Bible study sometimes,” Clegg said. “So I think (being on the team) has definitely helped me grow to know that other people in the sport I play are also Christ followers.”
The men opened the spring season on the road with a 7-0 loss to Campbellsville. Grubbs said Campbellsville has a strong program, but added that he scheduled this game intentionally to prepare the team for the type of competition they would soon see in conference.
After the loss, the team swiftly responded with a 4-3 home court victory against Indiana University East, marking the Trojans’ first win of the spring.
“That match against Campbellsville gave us all experience with the pressure again and with people watching and with real match experience,” Beukelman said. “I think the loss mostly just brought experience, but also confidence in the next match, which ended up playing out pretty well.”
Against IU East, Beukelman and his doubles partner, freshman Tyler Lane, pulled out a 6-4 victory, securing a point for the team.
After clinching the victory, the team began to prepare for what Grubbs called an extremely competitive conference. So far in conference play, the Trojans have fallen in four of their five matches. Their lone victory came on the road against Mt. Vernon Nazarene.
The 7-0 sweep against Mt. Vernon was the first Crossroads League win for the Trojans since the program’s return. The team won all three doubles matches and all six singles. Beukelman and Lane swept their opponents 6-0 at No. 1, and Clegg rounded out the day with a sweep in No. 6 singles, 6-2 and 6-1.
Later, the team will face No. 10 Huntington and No. 16 Marion, both of which Grubbs said were teams to watch out for.
Despite many challenging matchups this season, the Trojans continue striving for greatness, on and off the court. Whether it be fostering a culture-driven team or a strong work ethic, they are holding onto hope that with time, the program will begin to settle in and grow stronger.
“The wins will eventually come for us if we do the right things,” Grubbs said. “And so just setting that culture from day one is really important.”
