Mount St. Charles Tennis: Mounties Get Swept 7-0 By Strong Hendricken Team

With just seven players in the lineup, Mount St. Charles lost to Bishop Hendricken, 7-0, yesterday in Lincoln.

The Mounties are now 0-5 in league play, and they’ll visit North Kingstown Saturday, April 23, in search of their first win.

“We’re not calling it quits yet,” said Mount St. Charles head coach Sean McClelland. “There’re still a lot of matches left. There’re still a lot of points to be played.”

After an encounter with the 1-4 Skippers, the Mounties will turn their attention toward three more matches in April and eight in May.

Each time they take the court, the expectation will be the same.

“I’m very adamant about this: No team is going to outwork us,” McClelland said. “That’s one thing we can take away from each match.”

The effort has not helped Mount St. Charles into the win column yet, but McClelland always reminds his players that, after every match, there is another day, another serve and another opportunity.

“The most important point in tennis is always the next one,” McClelland said.

The young Mounties have a lot to look forward to, but they’ve struggled this year to get on track against some of the best teams in the division.

After taking two points from Lincoln (2-1) April 7, the Mounties fell to LaSalle (4-1), 7-0, and Cumberland (5-1), 6-1, on back-to-back days in mid-April. They were also swept by Smithfield (3-3) April 14 before running into Hendricken (4-2) April 21.

“[Hendricken’s] going to be tough for the whole season,” McClelland said. “But I think we definitely would’ve put up a better fight if we had the full squad.”

The Mounties did not take one set from the visiting Hawks at Highridge Thursday, and only Travis Connolly won more than a single game for Mount St. Charles. The No. 4 freshman lost, 6-1, 6-3, after stepping up to play singles in place of an absent teammate.

The three Mounties that could not play Thursday are expected to be back with the team soon.

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