Tennis: Trip to west coast caps nonconference season for ranked tennis squads

“Both of our matches over spring break are great opportunities for our team to compete hard and to start building momentum heading into the Ivy season,” women’s head coach Megan Bradley said. “I am expecting our team to really pull together as a unit and for each individual player to take accountability for pulling in her point.”

The Tigers competed last weekend against No. 47 William & Mary (7-7) and No. 43 University of Maryland (9-2). They defeated the Tribe on their home turf, 7-0, marking their first win against another Intercollegiate Tennis Association-ranked team, only to fall the next day to the Terps, 2-5. Freshman Katherine Flanigan and sophomore Monica Chow both won three of their four matches throughout the weekend.

Before the upcoming San Diego trip, Bradley said she is trying to “give the student-athletes a little bit of a break before the first match of spring break,” especially during midterm week.

“This year we have been successful at beating the teams we need to beat and battling through adversity,” Bradley said. “There have been several trying moments that the team has dealt with, but the current team members have really stepped up when needed.”

With the Ivy League season approaching, Bradley is excited to see the Tigers use their tough, mental approach to follow their previous successes this season.

“We know that our success mostly depends on how we mentally approach a match. I have some really tough girls on my team, and using that toughness during spring break will undoubtedly translate into starting off the Ivy season on the right foot,” Bradley said.

Meanwhile, the men’s team will be competing in the San Diego Invitational over the weekend against eight teams.

“My expectation is that our team will play with discipline, make good decisions, fight for every point and most importantly, believe in themselves,” men’s head coach Glenn Michibata said.

As the last big matches before the Ivy League season kick into gear, Michibata said he looks for as many opportunities as possible to prepare the players for league competition.

Like the women, the men also split their last two games, starting with a 4-3 loss to St. John’s (8-3), and recovering with a 6-1 win the next day against Stony Brook (3-6). The Tigers have played about two matches every weekend since January, and are looking forward to proving their strength in the upcoming Invitational and Ivy League season.

“Our successes have stemmed from sticking to our system, in both singles and doubles,” Michibata said. “Whenever we’ve wavered from that, we’ve struggled. Overall the guys have done a good job and with each success, they have a firmer belief in what we are doing.”