The UW-Whitewater men’s tennis team opened its indoor season in dominant fashion with decisive wins over Milwaukee School of Engineering and Carroll University.
With no indoor facility on campus, Whitewater’s “home” for the winter requires a 35-minute trip to Lake Geneva. The unusual setup presents challenges, but head coach Byron Balkin said the team has embraced the situation.
“It is our second home,” Balkan said. “Of course there are challenges when you have to drive 35 minutes to play. I tell our athletes, ‘to be an elite athlete, you have to love challenges.’ Our players do a really good job navigating that and it really builds team camaraderie.”
Junior captain Theo Billson agreed, noting the added difficulty of drawing a crowd compared with on-campus matches.
“It’s a lot more difficult to have classmates and colleagues turn out and get a big crowd,” Billson said. “But we usually get a good turnout with parents and the women’s team coming to watch. Road trips and bonding with the team is always fun, so getting hyped up in the van really helps us.”
Billson, who has consistently competed in Whitewater’s No. 1 singles and doubles positions, said the transition to indoor play requires a more aggressive approach.
“Indoor tennis is a lot faster,” Billson said. “You have to be more aggressive because you have less time on the court. It’s also easier to get pumped up as a team because it gets louder inside.”
Though the rules remain the same, indoor and outdoor tennis demand different strategies. Balkin said outdoor conditions introduce variables such as wind and sun that affect tactics from one side of the court to the other.
“Outdoor tennis has a lot more variables with weather and sun and all those things play into your tactics,” Balkin said. “Indoors, you have fewer variables. You can play both sides of the court the same and you can be more aggressive.”
Despite the change in environment, Balkin said the team’s practice structure remains consistent.
“It’s week to week, match to match,” Balkin said. “When we’re practicing outdoors, we remind ourselves that we’re outdoors. Indoor practice is a fun and exciting time for them to show off their skills without those outdoor elements.”
The team also entered the season after more than three months without match play. Billson said the time off helped strengthen team chemistry rather than create rust.
“We did a lot of team bonding and the energy was there to go out and prove it in the spring,” Billson said. “We have a new roster and want to show people what we can do.”
Whitewater’s performance reflected that confidence. The Warhawks defeated MSOE 7-0 and Carroll 6-1. Billson and freshman Carter Michaels won at No. 1 doubles in both matches and Billson went undefeated in singles play across the two contests.
Balkin said he had no concerns about the team’s readiness.
“No concerns at all,” Balkin said. “Our guys know what is expected from them. I thought we did a really great job bringing our guys back early to prepare for those matches.”
The Warhawks continue their season Saturday, Jan. 31 at Division III powerhouse Washington University in St. Louis.
