On March 23, the Wheaton Club Tennis team went to Harvard University for a USTA (United States Tennis Association) tennis tournament. This was the first time the Wheaton Club Tennis team went to an off-campus tournament, and it was a unique experience for all players involved.
Although the team did not take home the grand prize, the players gained a lot of experience and most importantly, had a lot of fun.
As this was Wheaton’s first time playing in this type of tournament, the Lyons were put into the lowest pool, which was designated for the least experienced teams. Out of the five teams in the pool, Wheaton faced off against Bryant University, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Holy Cross.
The tournament as a whole included colleges such as Harvard University, UNH, Dartmouth College, Brown University, Boston College, Fairfield University, University of Vermont and Tufts University.
Those who represented Wheaton included: Beth Preston ’13, Michael Rist ’14, Giuseppe D’Orazzi, Megan Bobola ’14, Polly Bickford-Duane ’15, Brandon Conn ’16 and Karissa Vincent ’16.
Wheaton players competed in Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s and Men’s Singles and Mixed Doubles. All had a fair amount of playing time as the team rotated over the course of three rounds. The club managed to defeat both Bryant College (13-12) and Holy Cross (17-12).
Due to cold weather, all matches were played indoors. While that was good for keeping players warm, it was less convenient for playing time. Warm-up times were shortened, making it more difficult for players to feel ready to play a match. The matches were also shorter than usual, lasting until one team had won four games. The normal sets of six were abandoned in the interest of time, which changed the strategy of some team members.
The matches were very well played, each one having its ups and downs. Though the scores for each game varied greatly, the Wheaton team members each put in their best effort and learned from the matches.
After such a positive experience, the Wheaton Club Tennis team seems to be moving toward a new tradition of competition, hoping to participate in more tennis tournaments in the future.