May 26, 2023
Tennis Earns an Ace in Nationals Debut
By Francisco Claudio
Westcliff University Athletics is being talked about more and more as each sports program continues to show positive results in the regular season, the postseason, and at the national level.
Both Westcliff Tennis programs continued the upward trend as they traveled to Mobile, Alabama to play in the NAIA Tennis Championships and won their debut matches to advance to the second round.
The women's team was on the front page of the NAIA website the following day for being the only team to pull an upset in the first round.
The men's team did an amazing job getting past the second round and reaching the quarterfinals where they faced off against the No. 1-seeded Keiser.
Although the men weren't able to defeat the No. 1 team, it was a close encounter that showcased where this team is at and the potential it can reach.
The men's team had control over No. 1 Keiser at one point which was monumental since it was barely their first time taking a swing at nationals.
Oh yes, this team is that good right now and there's still so much growth that will take place as they head into the 2023-24 season.
Head Coach Ross Duncan reflected on the week and everything he saw in the National Championships: "I am very proud of their performance. We definitely made our presence felt here and put our school on the map.
"We fought hard and played with a lot of energy."
Duncan spoke on the quarterfinal loss: "I saw the entire team absolutely devastated and completely gutted. It was twofold for me as it really showed that they were not satisfied with playing the No. 1 team in the country, and being as close as we were to winning it all.
"On the other hand, it was tough to see them so upset but I was super proud of them and reassured them that they gave a tremendous amount and left it all out there."
The men's team will surely move up in the NAIA rankings after getting wins over the No. 24-seeded Southwestern College and the No. 8-seeded William Carey.
The women's team will likely get a bump in their ranking of No. 19 after they defeated the No. 14-seeded Union College.
"The next step for this team is to work on preparing themselves for the ITA Fall Regional and to do well there," said Duncan.
But he also knows how important this summer will be in the development of the players and they are already getting ready to make the adjustment into the offseason.
"I have had a meeting with my coaches and one clear area that we need to do better is the fitness aspect as in the most important match of the year we lost three third sets which cost us dearly," said Duncan.
"A bigger emphasis will be placed on competing and playing when tired as this is where we came up short. Our doubles this year were a strength as we won the doubles in every match of the season except one."
Both Westcliff Tennis programs finished the season undefeated, won the GSAC regular season award, and also won the GSAC Tennis Tournament title.
The talent and level of competition they displayed at nationals was just the accumulation of everything they had worked on this whole year coming together and peaking at the right time.
Everyone should keep an eye out for these two programs because these Warriors are a force to be reckoned with and will be in the elite group of the NAIA tennis teams.