The Taylor men's tennis team wrapped up its fall season and now has its eyes set on the spring.
The Trojans went 3-1 in dual matches this fall. They opened on Sept. 8 with a 7-0 win over IU East and defeated Trine 5-2 on Sept. 15, a team they lost to last season 4-3.
The purple and gray then suffered their first loss of the fall in a close 4-3 battle against NCAA Division III Anderson on Sept. 28. They then closed out against future Crossroads League opponent Manchester on Oct. 3 with a 7-0 sweep over the Spartans.
The big success of the fall came during the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Midwest Regional on Sept. 26-30. While this tournament is more individual-focused, it gave the Trojans a preview of spring competition.
Freshman and No. 2 singles Abel Prude led the way for Taylor in the tournament. Prude took care of business in his first three matches, picking up three wins on his way to the quarterfinals. His run ended against Marian's David Deumer, the No. 2 seed of the tournament, falling 6-4, 6-1.
“A lot of the other coaches were coming up to me and just saying how amazing it was that he made it that far, and so that was definitely fun to watch Abel play and play that well,” Head coach Josh Grubbs said.
Grubbs said he enjoyed seeing his team compete at a high level at the tournament.
Sophomore Joshua Dawson also picked up a win in the opening round for the Trojans 6-1, 6-0 over Marian's Caleb Mohr.
Junior Graham Beukelman grabbed an 8-0 win in the consolation round against Huntington's Brady Strater after falling in a tight opening round match 6-2, 7-5 to Grace’s Stergios Achilleas Papadopoulos
In doubles, Dawson and freshman Caleb Taflinger battled in their first-round matchup against IU Southeast's DJ Hall and Connor Critchfield before falling 9-7, but recovered to claim a consolation victory over Marian's Christopher Long and Afonso Ribeiro 8-4.
The team has improved a lot this fall, according to Grubbs, adding that he has been impressed with both of his freshmen, Prude and Taflinger. Dawson echoed this, emphasizing the freshmen’s impact.
“The freshmen have really brought it,” Dawson said. “Abel and Caleb have really stepped up, and they're playing in the lineup and competing and winning, and so that just brings everyone's level up. They're both very competitive, which pushes me and pushes the rest of the team to compete hard as well.”
Both Prude and Taflinger have played important roles within the squad. Prude opened the year at the No. 2 singles spot and No. 2 doubles alongside sophomore Joseph Harper, while Taflinger played No. 3 doubles next to Dawson.
Grubbs credits a great fall to the leadership of Dawson and Beukleman. Grubbs said they have helped build the team’s culture, and exemplified how things should be done inside the program.
The Trojans will get a break for the winter before returning to prepare for CL play on Feb. 12 with a match against NCAA Division I Ball State.
Taylor has big aspirations for the spring in trying to stay in contention during CL play. Grubbs believes the CL is one of the best NAIA conferences, and hopes the work that they put in this fall can help them stay competitive.
“I definitely want to go into the spring knowing that the competition will be a lot stiffer, but just knowing that if I compete in practice every day, training my hardest, I think I can compete at that level,” Prude said. “It'll definitely take a lot of work, but with the guys on the team, I think we're all pretty motivated to put in that work.”
