World Team Cup: Quads into Semis

 Play resumed Wednesday morning after the torrential downpour experienced Tuesday in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, at the World Team Cup.

 Both the men's and women’s teams resumed matches and the quad team faced a new opponent.

The quad team secured their spot in the semifinals, with a 2-1 victory over the Netherlands.

Today, Greg Hasterok defeated Coen van Werkhoven, 6-0, 6-0, in the first singles match. Nick Taylor fell to Niels Vink, 6-3, 6-4. 

Taylor and Hasterok teamed up against van Werkhoven and Vink and won, 6-3, 6-1. The quad team will face off against Israel in the semifinals on Thursday. 

Coach Kevin Heim said, “Today was an opportunity to play a different lineup. We rested David Wagner and Bryan Barten to keep them fresh for the semi-finals. Taylor and Hasterok did a great job securing our third team win in pool play and locking up a spot in the semi-finals tomorrow against Israel.”

The women’s team, coached by Jon Rydberg, resumed its match against Great Britain. 

Shelby Baron lost to Lousie Hunt 6-2, 6- and. Dana Mathewson fell to Lucy Shuker, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. 

In doubles action, Mathewson teamed up with Mackenzie Soldan against Louise Hunt and Lauren Jones, falling in the marathon match, 2-6, 6-1, 10-8. The women will face Team Thailand on Thursday.  

Coach Rydberg said, “It was an overall good day for the USA Women in the first matches of the tournament. All three matches were tightly contested. They played smart, hard and with class.”

The men’s team also dropped its tie, 3-0, against Austria. 

Chris Herman fell to Nico Langman 6-3, 6-2, and Casey Ratzlaff was lost to Martin Legner, 6-3, 6-4. 

Both Herman and Ratzlaff fought hard against Josef Reigler and Nico Langman but lost, 7-6, 6-0. 

 “Today’s match with team Austria turned out to be another excellent learning experience for our men’s team,” said Team USA Wheelchair Coach Jason Harnett. “They are learning that it is a big world out there and they have a lot of work to do.”