Tennis enters season with optimism

Oliver kousholt, Staff writer

Both Men’s and Women’s tennis have opened up play for the spring season 2023.

Going into this year’s season, the hopes are high for both teams and there’s a strong belief that they can go on to achieve great things.

“We have high expectations for both teams to do well.” Thomas Woodcock, assistant coach of men’s and women’s tennis, said. “We have got plenty of freshmen who are doing great and are bringing great energy to practice and match days. Top 3 in conference for our women’s team would be a great finish for our first year in the ODAC. For our men top 2 would be a great finish.”

As of March 26, the women’s team is undefeated with a total record of 6-0 and are currently the 3rd seed in the ODAC with a 3-0 record. The team recently beat Birmingham-Southern College 9-0 making it the teams’ fourth consecutive sweep.

The good results have given the team plenty of optimism going into the remainder of the season.

“I am really happy with our season so far,” Paula Ryhsen, member of the women’s tennis team, said. “If we keep playing at this level, we will have a chance to compete with the best in the conference.”

As of March 28, the men’s team is sitting on a total record of 3-3 and a conference record of 2-0 making them the 3rd overall team in the ODAC standings.

The shared view of the team’s start to the season is positive with them competing and challenging tough opponents.

“Our start of the season has not been too bad,” Theodor Garmo, member of the men’s tennis team, said. “We have won the matches where we have been favorites and challenged greater teams to a good fight.”

Even though the team has been off to a decent start, there is still room for improvement.

“The most important thing we need to work on is our team spirit,” Garmo said. “We need to bring more energy and support each other more during our matches.”

Not only the players, but the coaching staff is also looking back at the start of the season with great satisfaction.

“Our women’s team have done great the first few games of the season,” Woodcock said. “They have really been supportive of each other and push each other both on and off the court. The men’s team have had some good wins as well as a few tough losses. Our freshmen are doing great, competing hard and bringing good energy each day.”