Story by Eva Dean Folkert/Photo by Lynne Powe

The Hope College men's tennis team captured its second consecutive MIAA match, defeating Calvin University, 8-1, on Tuesday at Hope's Etheridge Tennis Complex.

The Flying Dutchmen (2-5 overall, 2-0 MIAA) won all three doubles matches indoors at the DeWitt Tennis Center when rain moved in temporarily at the start of the match. The teams then moved outdoors to the VandePoel-Heeringa Stadium Courts for singles play once the surfaces and skies dried. 

No matter the location, head coach Bob Cawood was delighted with his team's focus.

"It was a competitive match across the board," said Cawood. "I think coming out of doubles was probably the highlight of the day. When you go up 3-0 in doubles, that just sets the tone for the rest of the match. We've definitely been preparing a lot for doubles, and we definitely showed those skills early on."

In doubles play, Hope's No. 1 pair of sophomore Jacob Burkett and sophomore Matt Henkel, pictured right, and the No. 2 pair of sophomore Paul Washington and sophomore Tyler Stafford each served up 8-4 victories.

At No. 3 doubles, sophomore Cameron Coates and sophomore Tyler Koran teamed up for a 8-2 win. 

Singles play saw the Flying Dutchmen winning five of the six matches. But Cawood said it wasn't easy.

"I thought we played well in singles, but holy cow, did Calvin compete!" he exclaimed. "They fought all the way to the end. We had three matches that went to (10 point) third-set tiebreakers and we were able to pull two out of the three." 

At No. 1 singles, Burkett of Clarkston, Michigan (Clarkston HS) defeated Calvin's Max Stallings, 6-0, 6-3.

At No. 2 singles, Coates of Stevensville, Michigan (Laurel Springs HS) won on a 10-point third-set tiebreaker, 6-7, 6-4, 10-8, over Jesse McCurdy.

At No. 3 singles, sophomore Tyler Stafford of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was downed by Calvin's Daniel Huan in the third-set tiebreaker, 3-6, 6-4, 8-10. 

At No. 4 singles, Koran of Salinas, California (Salinas HS) beat Harrison Sindelar, 7-5, 6-0.

At No. 5 singles, Washington of Dearborn, Michigan (Dearborn) earned a 6-4, 4-6, 11-9 victory against Adam Zentner. 

At No. 6 singles, Henkel of Traverse City, Michigan (Central HS) topped Calvin's Jace DeShetler, 6-0, 6-1.

"Like I said, going up 3-0 did put us at a very confident position and alleviated stress a little bit, but we still got to tighten up some things in singles," Cawood concluded. "But overall, I was very happy."

Hope plays again on Friday, April 9 at home versus Olivet College. Match time is 4 p.m.