Senior Adam Taylor sets up to return the ball in his win Saturday.
Despite the men’s tennis team dropping a pair of conference matches at home, senior Adam Taylor made the most of his final games at the Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts.
In his six matches during an extended senior weekend, Taylor went undefeated in both singles and doubles play. Head Coach Mel Purcell was impressed with Taylor’s play during his last matches at home.
“Adam stepped up and is a really emotional player, and he refused to lose these final matches at home,” Purcell said.
Taylor’s most difficult match was against Eastern Illinois Sunday on senior day. While the Racers lost to Eastern Illinois as a team, Taylor refused to let senior day end with a personal loss.
“My level was down and I wasn’t bouncing on my feet and was waiting for the ball to come to me,” Taylor said. “When I got down, I started moving more and got things going better for me. Being down 3-0 in the final set was tough, but I was determined to come back and give it my all.”
Taylor rallied back to take the next six games for the win and to push his OVC record to 3-2. While the match was the longest of the day, Taylor said he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“It felt pretty good to get the win,” Taylor said. “If I have to be on the court in the sun for two hours, I like getting a win out of it.”
Before the match, Taylor and fellow tennis senior Carla Suga were honored as the teams’ only two seniors. For Taylor, it was a special moment due to his connection with Suga.
“It was different because I got to share it with Carla,” Taylor said. “She is a big reason that I had the opportunity to come play at Murray State.”
After the matches concluded, Purcell spoke highly of his team captain.
“We only got to have him for two years and we wish we could have him for more,” Purcell said. “He has been the team captain for those two years and pushes the guys on the team.”
Sitting at 1-4 in conference play, this weekend the Racers must pull out a pair of victories to have an opportunity to make it to the OVC Tournament. Murray State will make the trip to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State.
“It is always tough to go to Eastern Kentucky and Morehead because of the amount of travel,” Purcell said. “I feel good about our team’s chances on the road because we need wins.”
The Racers play at 2 p.m. Saturday against Eastern and 10 a.m. Sunday against Morehead State.
Story by Tom Via, Staff writer