By: Shannon Ramer, sports information assistant
January 30, 2008
|
The 2008 Bluffton University men’s tennis season is right around the corner. There are a few question marks due to the limited returning experience, but Coach Blake Kindle is excited to see how the season shakes out. Bluffton welcomes back three solid members from the 2007 team that finished with a 3-12 record overall, including a 2-6 mark in the Heartland Conference. |
|
The Beavers return senior captain and No. 1 singles Tim Kauffman (Lilburn, Ga./Parkview). Kauffman, who will provide leadership and stability to the young team, has been an integral member of the squad for four years. Senior Blake Babcock (Findlay/Findlay) was the Beavers’ other captain in 2007, but his internship with the Cleveland Cavaliers will not allow him to return to the No. 2 singles slot that he occupied a year ago. Other returning Beavers include sophomores Luke Roeschley (Chicago, Ill./Whitney Young) and Sean Williams (Upper Sandusky/Upper Sandusky) who will compete for top positions. |
 |
|
John Mark Stratford (Pandora-Gilboa/Pandora), a junior, is a first-year men’s tennis member along with sophomore Brent Householder (Celina/St. Mary’s). Householder is a recent transfer from the University of Toledo. Kindle is looking for talented freshmen Jon Stout (Bellevue/Bellevue), David Juarez (Lake/Uniontown), and Tanner Olterman (Preble Shawnee/Camden), also a member of the soccer team, to contribute for the Beavers right away. |
 |
A challenging non-conference slate, including matches with Ohio Northern, Heidelberg and Tiffin, will give the team a chance to prepare for the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. Kindle expects that his team “will be competitive in the HCAC and get us ready for the conference tournament.” The Beavers finished the 2007 season 7th in the Heartland Conference. Coach Kindle looks forward to his team working to move into the upper half of the conference this season. |
|
The Beavers open play on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, when they travel to Adrian, a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, to face the Bulldogs. The match is slated to start at 4 p.m. On Saturday, March 22, Bluffton travels to Hanover for a conference tri-match with the Panthers and Anderson University. -BEAVERS- |
