Hawks net men off to excellent start with 3-2 win over Dover

In the past, beating Dover’s tennis team is something of which the Hiland Hawks have not had a lot of experience. After knocking off the Tornadoes 3-2 at Dover Park on Monday, March 28, the Hawks are now on a roll.

“That is the second year in a row that we have beaten Dover,” said Hiland coach Tom Lee. “That is a real good plus for our program, because Dover has a very strong program.”

First singles Brad Mullet got the party started early and quickly, disposing of Kody Eckert in straight sets, 6-0, 6-1. The rest of the matches took a little longer and were a little more up in the air, but the Hawks came through where they had to in order to earn a victory.

“Brad really came to play and played well throughout,” said Lee. “He got right to business and never let up at all.”

Andrew Yoder matched up against Tyler Kourie in second singles, and battled his way to a 6-3, 6-2 victory in a match which Lee said was critical to the team’s success coming in.

“Andrew’s win was absolutely crucial, because those two guys are very evenly matched,” said Lee of Yoder and Kourie. “That one could have gone either way, and Andrew played a very good match.”

Another close match took place at third singles, where Hiland’s Quinn Miller faced off against Dover’s Zach Immel. The two knocked heads in the first set, and found themselves tied at 6-6. Immel then took the tie-breaker 7-3, and took the wind out of Miller’s sails, defeating him in the next set 6-2 for the win.

The most exciting match of the night took place at second doubles, where Hawks Cole Reynolds and Cameron Yoder squared off against Dover’s Brady Harnish and Mitch Hovan. Dover captured the first set 6-4, but the Hawks came right back to knot things up with a 6-4 win of their own. That set the table for an epic battle for the win, one which went back and forth, before Harnish and Hovan pulled out a 7-5 win.

That left the deciding game in the hands of Hiland’s first doubles team of Conner Lee and Martin Magaldi, who faced Dover’s Ryan Miller and Louis LoPresti. While the match was a tactical battle, Lee and Magaldi broke service in both of the sets and pulled out a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

“That loss at second doubles was really a tough one, but overall, we played pretty well,” said Lee. “It’s an encouraging beginning, and it is always exciting to get a win over Dover.”