As the weather starts to brighten campus, so does the ambition of the students to get through the spring semester. While students may be cramming to get homework done, the club tennis team is serving forehand to finish their assignments for a different reason.
The club had a tournament in Michigan, where they faced teams such as Ohio, Purdue, Grand Valley, Loyola and Youngstown State. For their next tournament, the club tennis team will be traveling to the Mountain West state, Colorado, where they will be facing newer teams that may have them adjusting at the moment.
“I felt excited before the Michigan tournament as it was my first time competing,” sophomore player Abby Grams said. “I was nervous as I went in blindly, not knowing what to expect. But it was very fun as the team got to grow closer.”
Grams described the experience to be fun as she was able to rally against bigger schools. Although Grams was new to the experience, she was still able to enjoy the process while getting acclimated.
“I’m unfortunately not going to the Denver tournament as I feel the upperclassmen deserve to go, as I am still adjusting to the club,” Grams said.
Although Grams is not competing in Denver, she is still going to cheer on her other teammates and show her support while absorbing the information they bring back to use for future out-of-state tournaments.
Grams was not the only one to experience the Michigan tournament for the first time, as the current vice president, senior Carly Meeks, also competed.
“I felt excited to go to Michigan’s tournament as it was my first time,” senior Carly Meeks said. “I had good rallies and it was fun to be with the team.”
Meeks enjoyed the rotation of positions, as it allowed her to play against different people, along with having fun matches for her to experience before graduation.
“The biggest challenge for Denver’s tournament is that we are going against Division I schools that we haven’t played,” Meeks said.
Meeks felt more excited than nervous, and took the time prior to practice to maintain proper relaxation and rest, which allowed her to stay focused on the challenging opponents ahead.
Meeks won’t be alone as two other club members will be joining her, one who is currently the club’s risk manager and future president, as well as a future board member.
“I’m excited to travel by plane as it will be a different experience for bonding,” junior Gavin Eckerman said. “This will be our first time competing where we don’t know how the opponents are during tournaments.”
With this challenge in mind, the team has taken the time to prepare for adjustments.
“I’m hoping for the team to earn either gold or silver, or an in-between placement such as top silver,” Eckerman said.
As the future president is looking forward to this experience, the future board member has a different perspective.
“I am a bit nervous about the change of altitude, along with adapting on the spot,” sophomore Ryan Bitney said. “I am excited to face schools that aren’t in the UW system and experience new competition.”
Bitney’s prediction is similar to Eckerman’s, he wants to be somewhere in the middle, not blowing people away and not losing drastically.
“I am excited to gain new memories with the team while having serious and fun moments,” Bitney said.
These tournaments are two of the many opportunities that club sports can provide by joining any of the teams available. The tennis club’s main goal is for everyone to enjoy the experience and learn new things, whether through playing the sport or making new friends.
