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Tennis serving up another year of action
Issue 11 - 02.23.06

Nathan Mai
Nathan Mai, one of five returning sophomores for the Tigers' men's squad, will be relied on to help the team compete for a trip to nationals.
Staff Photo

BY DAVID DEJMAL
Staff Writer

Expectations are high for this year’s Tiger men’s and women’s tennis team. There are five returning players for the men and two for the women.

After former coach Larry Grose retired, Brad Louderback took over. If there is one word that describes him, it would be experienced. He has coached at Oklahoma State University, where he took the OSU women to four straight Big Eight tournament titles. He also coached at the University of Illinois, where he led the men’s team to a dual-season Big 10 championship.

The current Cowley men’s team also has some experience with five returning sophomores. Taking the top spots at this point are Julian Rios and Nathan Mai.

“My main goal is to take this team to nationals. I know we have the potential to do it, too,” said Rios. Battling for the other spots are sophomores Kevin Harper, Marijn Bal, and Naman Galvan. The new recruits who will also be contending for spots are freshman Brian Cross from Ardmore, Okla., and a transfer student, Juan Ramos, who is from Columbia and played at Independence Community College.

Julian Rios
Julian Rios and the other Tigers prepare for the long road ahead. Their first home match will be March 1.
Staff Photo

“The competition is harder than high school, but we have some good players,” said lone freshman Brian Cross. “I think we’ll be all right.”

The Lady Tigers are only returning two starters from last season – Ark City native Molly Bowman along with Gina Pendrak (from Missouri), who won Region VI as number six singles last season.

There are five freshmen: Katie McKee, Shelly Skiles, Ashley Arnold, and two foreign hopefuls – Hanane Toumi from Morocco and Samantha Cowan from Gold Coast, Australia.

“At this point in the season, it’s a little too early to tell who the top players are for singles,” Louderback said.

Getting a chance to see the tennis team play at home will not come often considering there are only four home meets for the men and five for the ladies. The next chance to see some action will be March 1. Cowley will be hosting Friends University, an NAIA member.


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