By Luke Mich
It’s time for tennis as the men’s team has started their season at the beginning of this semester.
“[The season] is starting off very strong,” said Joshua Boland, a sophomore on his second year with the team. “We are 1-0, [and] everybody showed up ready to play to help us with that first match.”
The men’s tennis team won their first match against Juniata College on Saturday, Feb. 22 with a score of 5-4. Juniata was one of the few opponents that beat Saint Vincent last year.
Key to the win were the performances by the freshmen on the team, Boland said.
“The freshmen have fitted really well into the team. They’re not only contributing towards the performance of the team, but also towards a friendly and nice little community where we all help each other when it’s needed.” - Mauricio Sanchez
“They have been playing off the hook this year,” said Boland, noting that teammate Evan Ray won PAC Rookie of the Week for his recent performance of winning both his matches, while Sam Butler played a very good doubles match versus Juniata.
Sophomore player Mauricio Sanchez stated that the freshmen have fit really well into the team.
“They’re not only contributing towards the performance of the team, but also towards a friendly and nice little community where we all help each other when it’s needed,” he explained.
The expectations for this year’s team are set high, considering how well they did last year. In 2019, the team went 15-4 overall and finished third overall in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.
For the players, Boland explained, the goal is at least to match that.
Both Boland and Sanchez also had praise for Head Coach Brian Niemiec in different aspects.
“Coach Niemiec keeps pushing us hard to become better players as well as better people,” Sanchez stated.
Boland said he would praise Niemiec for his recruiting.
“I think we have a heck of a season coming up." - Joshua Boland
“Coach did very good recruiting for this year and found some really good freshmen to help us out,” Boland stated.
Boland and Sanchez both believe that the team will have another strong season.
“I can’t really pinpoint a weakness for the whole team,” Boland said.
“Our strength is that we don’t have any weaknesses,” Sanchez explained.
As for their goal, it’s to win it all.
“The goal of the team is to win the PAC and be number one in the conference,” Sanchez stated.
“I think we have a heck of a season coming up and I have high hopes for us to at least match last year’s season,” Boland concluded.
The men’s tennis team traveled to Florida over spring break to play King’s College. Their next match is at home against Pitt-Greensburg on Friday, March 13 at 5:30 p.m.