As the Pioneer men's tennis team focused on grabbing the lead in Midwest Conference play by  producing three league wins, they also pushed Coach Andy Hamilton's 21-year coaching record to 400-170.

"Our guys were really great this weekend, not only did they stake claim to the Midwest Conference lead, they also carried themselves very well in our home matches.  To get three wins while playing 18 different players along the way, says an awful lot about our program depth.  The congratulations goes to our current team and all the alumni players who paved the way in the past," projected Hamilton.

On Saturday Monmouth posed a good challenge but the Pioneers prevailed, 9-0.  "It was great to win over Monmouth because they are typically one of the top four teams in the league," noted Hamilton.

In doubles Sam Stickels and Tracy Johnson cruised at No. 3, 8-0. C.J. Ray and Cole Miller withstood an early push by Monmouth, winning 8-3.  At No. 1 doubles Tommy Pitcher and Jose Coloma worked hard for an 8-5 win as their opponents stayed close until the final three games.

In Singles Coloma rolled at No. 1, 6-2, 6-0, while Cole Miller fought off a talented player at No. 2, 6-2, 6-4. Ray notched a 6-2, 6-1 win while Johnson prevailed 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3 and 4.  Stickels came from 5-2 down at No. 5 to for a 7-5, 6-2 win.  After dropping the first set 7-6, Tommy Pitcher collected himself to claim the second set 6-3 and the tie-breaker, 10-4.

On Saturday afternoon the Pioneers hosted Knox and posted a 7-0 victory.  Coach Hamilton played a completely different lineup in that match as he turned to seniors Beau Bressler, Byrson Cale, Sam Catanzaro, Caleb Kumar and Ameer Shujjah.

"It was so much fun to watch this group of players go about their business.  These guys have been the depth which allows us to play a lot of extra matches in our program," offered Hamilton.

In doubles, Cale and Will Hamilton sailed 8-0 at No. 1 and Shujjah and Kumar produced the same score at No. 2.

The most competitive singles match was at No. 1 singles where Cale posted a 6-1, 6-3 victory.  Catanzaro went 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 while Kumar won 6-0, 6-1 at No. 3.  Zach Lane rolled 6-0, 6-0 and Bressler prevailed by the same score.

On Sunday, Hamilton used the opportunity to play a few more new players and the Pioneers rolled to victory, 9-0, over Illinois College.

Ray and Miller anchored No. 1 doubles, producing an 8-0 win.  Rookies Lucas LeDoux and Caleb Ulring won 8-1 at No. 2, while Johnson and senior Dylan Murphy cruised, 8-0, at No. 3.

Another rookie, Hunter Antonisse took advantage of his opportunity with a 6-0, 6-0 win at No. 6 singles. Peter Sills went 6-2, 6-2 at No. 5; Shujjah won 6-1, 6-0 at No. 4; Kumar won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 and Catanzaro was victorious at No. 2, 6-1, 6-3.

The match of the day featured two rookies, Coloma and Miguel Vaca from IC.  By using a couple of service breaks, Coloma won the first set, 6-1.  In a back-and-forth affair, the duo treated the Grinnell fans to a tremendous second set with Coloma slipping away, 7-5, with a final break of serve.

"The level of tennis between Jose and Miguel was so high, it was a fitting way to end a good weekend for Grinnell.  But, I think our guys know we have more to attain still this year," completed Hamilton.

Next weekend Grinnell takes to the road in Wisconsin for the final three dual matches of the season.