Men's And Women's Tennis Take Down Missouri Valley

Lamoni, IA - The Graceland men's and women's tennis teams were in Lamoni today to host Missouri Valley College in a conference dual.

The GU women defeated the Vikings 5-4 and the GU men won 8-1.

After falling behind 1-2 following the doubles, the Lady Jackets would battle from behind the rest of the match.

They were down again 2-4, but as the sun went down GU was able to storm back for victory by winning the last three singles matches under the lights.

"This was are tightest contest of the season," said head coach Joel Loving. "The women's match came down to the number sixes, and Karina [Cardiel] played great. I am happy that she was able to be the one to secure the team victory for us."

For the men, the number one doubles pair of Jose Daniele Razo Torres (JR/Mexico City, Mexico) and Borja Perez (FR/Bilbao, Spain) outlasted their opponent in a tight set (9-7), as did the number three pair of Danil Tarantinov (FR/Moscow, Russia) and Felipe Suarez Parra (SR/Cali, Colombia) (8-6).

Carrying a 2-1 lead, the Graceland men were able to then sweep the singles contests, but not without some tough battles in individual sets.

"Despite the 8-1 scoresheet for the men, this was a very close and difficult match," continued coach Loving. "I am impressed with the mental toughness that the guys have shown during important moments."

Both the men's and women's teams are on current 6-match winning streaks.

The Women will next host Evangel University on April 17 at 1:00pm with the winner receiving the top seed in the conference tournament.

Then both teams will host Lindenwood University-Belleville at 11:00am on April 19.

Stay tuned to GUJackets.com for continuing coverage of the Graceland tennis teams and for all Jacket athletics.