While tennis is an individual sport, UNCW men’s tennis head coach Mait DuBois said teamwork contributed to his players’ dominating performance in the 2015 Seahawks Men’s Tennis Fall Invitational at the UNCW courts Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
The Seahawks won 25 of their 30 matches against N.C. State, Tulane, Richmond and USC Upstate, and DuBois said they played better each day.
The team aspect of the game is more evident during the spring season, when each team takes on just one other rival per contest. The players typically have a more individual mentality during the fall tournaments in which multiple colleges take part.
“You’re playing your match and you don’t know the other guys around you, they’re all from different schools,” DuBois said.
But the Seahawks Invitational mimicked the spring format, letting teammates play side by side so they fed off each other’s energy. The athletes play with more intensity in that setting, DuBois said, and it encourages camaraderie.
“We try to make tennis, which is an individual sport, as much of a team sport as we can,” he said.
The doubles matches were even more explosive, with bellows of triumph or frustration following every point.
“Doubles is pretty intense and fiery,” senior Christiaan Van der Burgh said. “I think that’s also when we play our best, when things get a little heated.”
A doubles pair of UNCW sophomores, Gianlucca Massa and Taylor Cramer, went all three days undefeated. The Seahawks’ eight-man team has six sophomores, so that class’ increasing maturity and experience has helped the team improve on last year’s results.
“Last year, we were really young, so they’re maturing and developing,” DuBois said.
With no incoming freshmen, the team has been able to return at last year’s level and immediately start building off it with no learning curve, said senior Santtu Leskinen, who captains the team along with Van der Burgh.
The team spends a lot of time together off the court, and while the two seniors value those friendships gained through tennis, they also have a goal for their final season, which starts Jan. 16. They want to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament, which they achieved during their freshman and sophomore years but not last year.
“That was kind of heartbreaking,” DuBois said. “I know everyone is really looking to make it back there.”
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