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Men’s tennis has seen some changes this year. However, the biggest change the team wants to make is in their performance.
“We don’t want to take the second place home anymore,” said Danny Westerman, the head coach, in his fourth year leading the program. “Winning the [Sun Belt] Conference Championship is our number one goal.”
Although the Sun Belt Conference Championship will be held in New Orleans this April, the team has already begun preparations to take the title.
Practicing six days per week, at the Stapleton Tennis Pavilion and meeting with a strength coach three times per week, the No. 47 preseason- ranking team will enter the new season ready for action.
“The fall is the time when we’ll gear up. We’re going to bust it pretty hard during these [next] eight weeks here,” said Westerman.
With three new freshmen and new core of upperclassmen, the team is maturing and ready to take the courts.
“The older guys have learned to become better leaders,” said Westerman.
“We have some really talented freshmen; they’re going to help boost the level of the team. With the returners we have, it will be a really good mix. The talent level will be better this year. The guys have come ready to play.”
Seniors Ravjot Dhatt and David Simson, who went 6-15 and 19-13 in the 2008-09 season, respectively, will captain the seven-man team, including freshmen Fabio Biasion, Jens Vorkefeld and Aaron Wicker and juniors Varun Gunaseelan and Andrew Landwerlen.
The Pioneers will play in the Baylor HEB Invitational in Waco, Texas, this Friday through Sunday. The team will continue to play tournaments until January, ending with the Key Biscayne Invitational in Miami on Jan. 8-10 against University of Texas, Louisianan State University and University of Michigan.
The official season will begin Jan. 23 with a dual match against Radford in Lincoln, Neb. The Pioneers will play the Big 12 and the Pac 10 – both of which will prepare them for winning the biggest event of the season, the Sun Belt Conference Championship, which will come with an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Tournament in May.
“We really want to win the Conference,” said Westerman. “The guys have come ready to play.”
