After playing a few tennis matches in late September, the tennis team has begun to practice and compete for the continuation of their 2018 season as the weather warms up.
The Augustana Men’s tennis team is currently sitting at an 8-7 record, with their losses being close and their wins being strongly ahead of their competitors.
Head coach, Jon Mediema, commented on how he believes the season has progressed so far.
“The guys have done a good job. We have a great mix of veterans and young players. Because of some injuries, our young players were forced to play an even bigger role and gained some valuable experience. We’ve had a lot of close matches and that experience is invaluable and will benefit us as we get deeper into our season,” Miedema said.
Junior, Jack Morkin, had a similar view about the season as well.
“The season has been a grind so far. We’ve had several close losses to teams that were beatable, but this has been an excellent learning experience for the young guys on the team. They are responding well to the pressure and the close losses don’t seem to weigh on them too much. Everyone is hungry to get back out and play right after a close loss. Even though we may have lost, we were not defeated,” Morkin said.
The team’s record has improved after racking up five victories during Augie’s Spring break. The team competed in two matches in Michigan but spent most of their time playing in Orlando, Florida. Morkin recalled his experience and memories he made in his past and the most recent trip to Orlando with the team.
“The experience of playing down in Florida is wonderful! After spending five weeks in the snow and ice, and playing indoors at the racket club, it’s a breath of fresh air to actually get outside in the warm Florida sun and play,” Morkin said. “My favorite memories of spring break are when we went to downtown Disney world after we won a match and we grabbed ice cream as a team. Sitting outside next the pond, relaxing, and being goofy with everyone is always what I think about first when I remember past spring breaks.”
Miedema agreed with Morkin that the matches in Florida are always a great experience.
“Spring break is always a great chance to get to know the teams better. We played all our matches at the USTA tennis complex which is fantastic and that was fun for our players. While we compete hard for the week and play lots of tennis we also had time to relax and enjoy kayaking down a river one day. It was a great chance for the players to just relax and get to know one another better,” Miedema said.
As for the rest of the season, the team has a positive outlook on their goals and motivations for the rest of the spring matches.
“Everyone’s goal this season is to win Conference. We are putting everything we have into this season,” Morkin said, “As far as my personal goals, I’m going to win every individual match I play in our conference. After playing well at 3 singles last year, I firmly believe that I won’t lose in the CCIW playing at number 5 this season.”
The team will play Elmhurst and Lake Forest on March 24, respectively, before returning back to the Augustana home courts on March 29.
Photo: Senior Eric Pohl returns the serve from Illinois Tech. Augustana won with a score of 9-0. Photo by Tony Dzik.