sports
Men and women’s tennis team’s begin spring season
Players return to Northeast-10 conference matches after traveling to South Carolina for spring break
By Matt Divenere
Staff Writer
Photo by Mike Connors
First-year Marran Ranks contributed to the win against Pace University. St. Michael’s won 6-3.
|
The men and women’s tennis teams started their spring season in Hilton Head, S.C., during spring break last month.
Senior captain Megan Conway said the trip as an opportunity for both teams to succeed on the court and bond together.
“We are very lucky to be able to travel down to South Carolina during spring break,” Conway said. “Having both teams together and playing side by side is a great experience.”
The men and women’s team have traveled together fto South Carolina, the last three years.
“Our fall season ends in mid-October, so we go quite some time without playing in a match from season to season,” Conway said.
The women’s team finished 2-3 against teams ranked in the top 10 of the Division II Eastern Conference. They played teams from New Jersey and Nevada.
“I believe that this spring break was the best we’ve performed as a team,” women’s head coach Greg Cluff said. “We hung tough against some very difficult teams.”
The team’s depth is an important element to how successful they will be, he said.
“Our doubles teams are going to play a large part in how well our team does this season,” Cluff said. “We always have stressed winning our doubles matches so we can get ahead early in the match.”
Cluff’s goals for the team are realistic, sophomore Lindsay Horne said.
“Coach always tells us to have fun and to play the best we can at all times, whether it’s a practice or a conference match,” Horne said. “If we do those two things, the results will be positive ones.”
The men’s team finished the trip with a record of 0-4. Head coach Kevin Lizzo said the record doesn’t show how well the team performed.
“We were missing a handful of players for the trip, but we still hung tough in all of the matches,” Lizzo said.
The trip to South Carolina was an opportunity for the players to step up their performance and prepare them for future conference games, he said.
“I truly believe that this year’s tennis team can be the strongest team the program has seen here at St. Michael’s,” Lizzo said.
Sophomore Adam Brezinsky said the trip allowed both teams to build a support system with each other.
“There was one match where we were able to play next to each other on separate courts,” Brezinksy said. “It was great to be able to not only root for our team but watch our counterparts and root for them as well.”
Both teams were ranked ninth in the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings during the week of April 3. They will play at home for the next two weekends against American International College and Merrimack College for conference matches.
“We are going for the number two spot in the conference behind Bryant,” Lizzo said. “From there, we’ll be hoping to make it to the conference tournament and get past the semi-finals.” 
|
|
This week's paper
|
