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Volume 26, Issue 35, april 29, 2004

sports

Awards galore for tennis


Donald Smith
Sports Columnist

This week is a week in which we have a sport coming to a close, a sport hanging in the balance and a sport whose players only get better and their season gets brighter.

Baseball (22-23-1, 9-11)

Let's see...the men's team needed to sweep Fort Hays State in order to stay in the Regional Playoff chase, and it needed to sweep Fort Hays in order to possibly solidify itself an RMAC Playoff spot. With all this pressure on the Roadrunners' shoulders to win they...split the series? What? I know the team played hard this weekend and if they would've lost only one I could understand, but when Brad Swartzlander (who started in a loss to FHS), Blake Eager (who started in a win to FHS) and Caleb Salankey (who started in a win to FHS) go to the mound, you expect to win those games. Well, Metro got two wins. Now the Roadrunners will come home and try to at least make the RMAC Playoffs by sweeping Nebraska-Kearney.

Men's Tennis (4-12, 3-3)

(In my best gameshow host voice)

Let's hear it for the Metro State Men's team! Although they didn't win their fourth straight title, some of them get to go home with some lovely parting gifts. Andre Nilsson, you receive RMAC Men's Tennis Player of the Year, First Team All-RMAC Singles and Second Team All-RMAC Doubles (with teammate Jojo Mmopi) Honors for your terrific season! Next up is James Schumacher. He will walk away with Second Team All-RMAC Singles and Second Team All-RMAC Doubles (with teammate Scott Flannigan) Honors. Now up, Jojo Mmopi, who walks away with Second Team All-RMAC Singles and Second Team All-RMAC Doubles Honors. Finally, there is Scott Flannigan, who walks away with Second Team All-RMAC Doubles Honors. Well, this is Donald Smith saying thank you for playing RMAC Men's Tennis and we'll see some of you back next year.

Women's Tennis (12-6, 6-0)

Let me just wrap this up in one quick sentence: EVERYONE on the women's tennis team won something...EVERYONE! First-year head coach Dave Alden won RMAC Coach of the Year, making him the fourth Metro coach this season to win that honor. All I can say is, when every person on your roster wins an honor in both the singles and doubles categories, you have to be playing some serious tennis! On their way to their third straight RMAC title (their first under Alden), this team lost only one game, dominating everyone they faced.

Before I call it a year, I would like to thank: you, the reader for reading my column every week, whether you love it, hate it or read it because there's nothing better to do. Finally, I would like to thank everyone in Metro athletics for providing me, either directly or indirectly, with information . You all mean a lot to me and this column. To everyone: good luck on your finals and have a great summer!