men’s tennis 279 together All-Conference performers lead Bisons to NCAA appearance Scoreboard Hendrix W 9-0, W 9-0 Christian Brothers W 9-0, W 9-0 University of the Ozarks W 9-0, W 9-0 Stillman W 9-0 LeMoyne-Owens W 9-0, W 9-0 Lyon W 9-0, W 9-0 John Brown W 9-0, W 9-0 Newman W 9-0 UAPB W 9-0 Abilene Christian L 0-9 UALR L 0-7 Delta State L 1-8 Ouachita Baptist L 0-9 GSC TOURNAMENT West Alabama L 4-5 North Alabama L 3-5 NCAA TOURNAMENT West Florida L 0-6 Tennis anyone? Ask that question to seniors Marco Ruiz and Olzhas Taniyev and they would most certainly take you up on that offer. Both Ruiz and Taniyev were selected to the All-Conference team last season through their hard work and ability on the tennis court. They also joined the rest of the team in representing Harding at the Gulf South Conference Tournament in Montgomery, Ala., and at the National Tournament in Pensacola, Fla. Before reaching the GSC and National Tournaments last spring, the tennis team got off to a good start in the regular season that included a remarkable 15-match winning streak. Men’s tennis Coach David Elliott described both Ruiz and Taniyev as extremely hard-workers and team leaders. “They have a very positive effect on the team,” Elliott said. “Their attitudes and intensity levels are contagious.” While the team benefited from the great examples that its top two players exhibited, Taniyev was quick to recognize the efforts from all of the players. “The rest of the team did so much,” Taniyev said. “Every member worked really hard and showed so much support to each other, and that is what is really important.” This positive attitude and work ethic greatly helped toward the team’s working Row 1: E. Mendoza, J. Walters, C. Beach, B. Hemphill, O. Teniyev, D. Little. Row 2: R. Rios, E. Bryant, M. Ruiz, T. Samuel, B. Hoch. progress in the post season. The tennis team had consistently made it to the GSC and National Tournaments since the university became Division II. Elliott attributed these successes to the qualities of the players. “We’ve had a good tradition here [at Harding] in tennis,” Elliott said. “I think our character is above the norm at the college level.” Going into these postseason tournaments, Elliott said their aim was simply to be the best that they could be. “The only thing we can control is ourselves and then try to perform [the best that we can] when we get there,” Elliott said. Both Ruiz and Taniyev led the way toward this goal. With the team behind them and Elliott mentoring and building the young players up, they were able to succeed and advance to the National Tournament. There, they faced one of the best schools in the nation, West Florida. Though unsuccessful, they came away with a sense of pride and hard work. “We try so hard to peak at the end of the year and I feel like I played my best at the tournament,” Taniyev said. The conclusion to an overall successful 2008 season, while satisfying in many ways, also made both Ruiz and Taniyev anticipate continuing their progress in the next season. “I am really excited about this next season, because in my opinion we have a more solid team than we did last year,” said Ruiz. Cody Waits
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