Tennis excels in weekend play

After two matches each last weekend, the Xavier men's and women's tennis teams had a much easier schedule this past week. The men's team defeated Northern Kentucky University on Wednesday by a score of 6-1 to improve its record to 8-8 on the season. The women's team played a non-conference match with the University of Louisville but fell to the Cardinals 7-0. The loss drops the women's record to 10-5 on the season. The men's team played their final road match before starting their five match home stand with a rout of the Norsemen from NKU. The Musketeers picked up the doubles point and five of the six singles matches to notch their third straight victory. Sophomore Jimmy Roebker earned a No. 1 singles victory (6-4, 6-2). Fellow sophomore Mesa Mei won the No. 2 singles match (7-5, 6-1) while junior Brandon MacDonald came out on top in the No. 3 singles match. Senior Marc Pretorious and freshman Fredday Abunku both picked up victories in the No. 5 and No. 6 matches, respectively. The women's team matched up against a top Big East team in Louisville and failed to earn a point. Xavier was swept in the doubles matches and struggled in the singles matches. Junior Katie Pleiman narrowly missed out on earning a No. 1 singles victory, losing in three sets to the Cardinals top player (7-6[4], 2-6, 1-0). "Our girls were pretty good at times today and hopefully can use today as a good learning experience

as we get back to conference play next week," head coach Eric Toth said. Both teams return to the courts tonight. The women's team squares off against rival University of Dayton here in Cincinnati. The men's team plays host to Wright State University at Lunken Playfield.