The men’s tennis team is starting its training early this year so it can be a strong contender for the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship. The team is working on its mental toughness and consistency of its doubles game this off season, according to the men’s tennis coach.
Last season the Cadets had a record of 7-4, its strongest season in 10 years. But the Cadets’ season came to a halt last year when losing to Suffolk University 8-1 in their semifinal match in the playoffs.
For the last two seasons the Suffolk Rams have taken charge and won the GNAC tennis championship and this year the Cadets have a chance to come through with a victory.
The Norwich team compiled a record of 1-3 in the GNAC, but the reasons for its losses were not from talent but from a lack of mental toughness, according to Peter Hooper, 24, a senior electrical engineering major from Spartanburg, S.C., and recent tennis alumni.
“Being mostly a military tennis team, I think conditioning wasn’t really an issue,” Hooper said. “What I do think we need to work on is mental toughness and we have a lot of athletic ability and a lot of players that want to get better.”
Hooper was nominated the GNAC player of the year for two consecutive seasons for the number one singles position.
Hooper also added that working on the basics, learning to hit the tennis ball properly, and learning new strategies, such as serving and volleying, will be a key part for the men’s tennis team this year, especially in doubles.
The format for a Div. III conference match is nine matches; there are six singles and three doubles matches that take place. In order to win, five out of the nine matches must be won by a team.
In the GNAC, the doubles matches go out on the courts first. It is important for the momentum of a match that Norwich win its doubles matches, said Logan O’Neill, 19-year-old, a sophomore psychology major from Friendswood, Texas. Last year, O’Neill was the number three singles player and the number two doubles player.
O’Neill spoke about the important role doubles plays in the entirety of a match. “Winning your doubles match will boost your confidence,” O’Neill said. “Doubles plays a big role in the outcome of a match; going into your singles match knowing your team has a strong lead is a good feeling.”
According to the Norwich athletics website, the men’s tennis team’s win/loss percentage in doubles was .545, which was 18 wins and 15 losses.
“Doubles is key to our success; unfortunately I think it’s been our Achilles heel and we haven’t been that good at it in the past,” said Kyle Dezotell, head men’s tennis coach. “I feel like in order for us to win some GNAC matches we need to be ahead after the doubles portions 2-1 or 3-0.”
O’Neill’s doubles partner, Graham Oliveira, a 20-year-old junior political science major from Westerly, R.I. said, “This offseason I am strongly focusing on my doubles game because I know how important each and every point means in a match.”
O’Neill and Oliveira compiled a 2-6 doubles record from the 2009-10 season and Oliveira looks to improve his game by working on his doubles tactics and consistency drills from the baseline in the offseason.
Both O’Neill and Oliveira spoke about how early preparation in October will give them a boost of confidence on the court.
“Confidence plays a big role in tennis, considering tennis is 80 percent mental,” O’Neill said.