The Bods opened up their MIAA championship defense this past Saturday with a win over Truman State, 6-1.

The No. 22 Bods have now won 13-straight after defeating Nebraska-Kearney earlier in the week 6-3 and will also travel to Emporia next Wednesday for the first of three-straight away conference matches.

“We had a great year last year with a lot coming back and had two new guys to add to the team and we knew, we were improving” said Nathan Martin, junior. “This is a better start than I thought we would, but everybody is playing well. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

The Hornets don’t pack as much punch as their Lady Hornets counterparts with a 7-2 record. The Bods have dominated the Hornets in the six years Jennifer Hastert has coached, not dropping a single match. But the Bods are not taking anyone lightly.

“Since I’ve been here they’ve improved every year and I know they’re better this year,” said Martin. “We’ll find out Wednesday but it should be a good match.”

The Bods are No. 1 in the region but still trail No. 34 Northwest Missouri State in the MIAA rankings. The Bearcats are 8-3 so far this year losing to No. 2 Drury, No. 8 Ouachita Baptist and No. 23 Midwestern State. But the Bods believe there is still plenty of room to climb up the polls.

“As long as we’re No. 1 in the region, that makes going to nationals a lot easier,” said Martin. “Being ranked No. 22 in the nation is a big deal. I think the highest we’ve ever been is 40. But we should be able to get it a little higher.”