<m notched their first two wins of the season this past Saturday against conference competitor, Saint Mary’s, and UW-La Crosse. The Knights once again proved their supremacy in the Central Region as they went 16-2 on the day.
For the team’s first contest, freshman Dan Vollman was at the top of the helm marching to a 6-1, 6-1 victory over the Saint Mary’s top player. Vollman was quite impressive in both performances on the day as he later prevailed in a 6-2, 7-5 contest against La Crosse’s #2 player.
The rookies’ performance was largely attributed to a solid ground game and complimented by good feel around the net. Head Coach Stephan Zweifel issued a compliment about Vollman’s superb backhand, “Dan had to summon his ‘inner Federer’ to get through that match.” This however came as a surprise to his teammates as fellow freshman Peter Dunn commented, “We’re all so used to seeing Dan shank those backhands. It was surprising because they usually hit the fence. Nonetheless, I’m proud of the guy.”
Winston Park ’10 was also very impressive on the day as he grabbed three wins, two in singles and one in doubles. Following Park’s 6-0, 6-0 domination of the Saint Mary’s #3 player, he was quoted asking his opponent, “Do you want them toasted? I’m referring to the bagels I just gave you.” Park was not alone in making his declaration as freshman Jon “Jaranda” Aranda later dispatched La Crosse’s #5 player 6-0, 6-0.
Zweifel was very pleased with his team’s play, particularly Park and Aranda’s performances. Zweifel said, “ Winston and Jaranda were simply unstoppable in singles play today. I have not seen that gleam in their eyes since Applebees had a 2-for-1 special on Buffalo Wings.”
The Knights next face UW-Eau Claire, the No. 21 ranked team in the Central Region on Friday, Feb. 13 in Rochester at 8:30 p.m. It will probably be difficult to find a Friday evening activity that will provide as much entertainment as this squad does. If you are not able to make it to the contest, stay up late, as the Knights will try to make it back to Northfield to celebrate a win, or maybe just a Gyro Pizza at Basil’s.