February 25, 2012
Bluffton University will welcome back Men’s Tennis in the spring of 2012 after two years without the program. Bluffton Hall-of-Famer Ron Huber will lead a young and inexperienced group of men into uncharted territory with a squad that consists of two seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen.
Though they are young and he is not sure what to expect from the other teams in the conference, Coach Huber still believes his team will be competitive. “There are some teams (in the HCAC) that are pretty stacked,” said Huber. “There’s good competition and it’s going to be a tough league, but I’m encouraged by what I’ve seen so far out of the men, especially in their attitude.”
Coach Huber will look to seniors Nate Stroud (Troy/Troy Christian) and Jon Cunningham (Negley/East Palestine) to provide leadership for the Beavers as both were on the team their freshman year, the last season before a two-year absence. Coach Huber said, “Nate Stroud is one of our stronger players and he has collegiate experience. He has good leadership skills and is working pretty hard at it. Jon Cunningham also played in 2009 and he brings solid leadership as well.”
Along with Stroud and Cunningham, junior transfer John Oyer (Hesston, Kan./Hesston) adds experience to the team after playing the last two years at Hesston College. Junior Kyle Schmidt (Berne, Ind./South Adams), sophomores Jaden August (Bluffton) and A.J. Haley (Wilmington) and freshmen Brock Goetz (Graytown/Oak Harbor) and Matt McCoy (Archbold) all have high school playing experience and will join promising sophomore Matt Weisenborn (Bowling Green/Otsego) and Owens College transfer Eric Kastner (Tiffin Calvert) in competing for varsity positions.
“Our goal is to field a respectable team,” said Coach Huber. “I want to have a good bunch of student-athletes that will represent the University well as we welcome new recruits while helping them improve the program during the upcoming years.”
The Beavers begin the season on March 13 at Adrian College in Michigan. After traveling to the University Of St. Francis in Fort Wayne, Ind., for a match with the Cougars on March 31, the Beavers will play their first home and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference match on Monday, April 2, against Rose-Hulman.
-BEAVERS-
