By Kevin Lee
Correspondent
The Lions got their work in this past week as they scrimmaged Kutztown University and Millersville University on Saturday as part of the Lions’/Kutztown Kickoff Tournament with Millersville. Because this match did not count in the winloss column, the Lions were able to use this scrimmage as a barometer to evaluate their play up to this point in the season.
“This weekend we were able to see that we are playing well and that we can definitely compete with a couple disivion two teams and given that we won all but a couple of the matches this weekend, I think we look very strong going into this extended break,” sophomore Jordan Cruz said.
The team won 27 of the 28 matches played against Kutztown and Millersville, which was a reflection of their strong play. Senior captain Jonathan Yu and sophomore Dean Thompson provided exceptional play as doubles partners. The pair won all of their doubles matches, moving well at the net and forcing few errors.
“Personally, I think I need to do a better job of serving,” Thompson said. “However, I think the most valuable part of the weekend was the confidence we gained as a team moving into the regional tournament this upcoming weekend.”
Furthermore, the scrimmage allowed each player to work on specific facets of his game, without causing him to worry about the end result. Almost all of the players felt that they were able to improve upon their serving, forehand, footwork and cardio this past weekend.
“The team wasn’t at full strength this weekend, but I was able to see most of the other matches and I feel that we all played well and are all hitting well, but still have room to improve before the spring season,” Cruz said.
The scrimmage served as a perfect tune-up match for the Lions as they hope to carry their momentum this weekend in the ITA Regionals, hosted by Skidmore College.
