Tennis team struggles to find its stride

For junior Collin Hyte, working hard and training hard is the only thing on his mind when he laces up his shoes and grabs his tennis racquet. He wants to excel every day and to be the best player he can possibly be. Hoping that this "slow start" will not reflect the rest of the season is what he is primarily concerned with as of now.

"I do care a lot about how the season has started out, but it is all about what the end results will be. I know one thing is for sure I will give it my all till someone is declared a winner," said Hyte, 20, a communications major from Marblehead, Mass. "This is a much more competitive sport that you have to practice and train for than people even realize."

Hyte is the number one singles player in the conference and also holds the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Year award last year.

The Cadets posted a 7-4 overall record while being 1-3 in the Great NortheastAthletic Conference (GNAC) last year.

This year's team is 2-4 and 0-2 in conference play. The team beat Green Mountain College 9-0 to receive the first win this year.

"Our overall record last year wasn't that bad, but I am not satisfied with our performance this year so far," said Luis Galvez, 22, a senior construction engineer management major from Guatemala. "Our work ethic in practice has to be a lot better. If we prepare ourselves better we will be better."

The team beat Johnson State 6-3 at home in Shapiro Field House on April 7. The Cadets then hit the road to face conference rival Emerson Lions. They lost that match, 8-1.

"We need a solid outing against Johnson State and if we do in fact beat them it will help boost our confidence for the much more important match up against Emerson," Hyte said before playing Johnson.

"The reason we came out so hot against Green Mountain was because of our high energy. If we maintain the high energy level I have very high hopes for the rest of the season," said Joe Dvorac, 19, a freshman who studies war and peace from Desoto,  Kansas. "The goal is to win GNAC and come out every day with a winner's mentality whether or not it's a practice or a match."

Hyte has started off in the direction of another successful season. He is currently 5-1 overall and is leading the team in that category.

"I have to step up to the challenge and help lead this team this year. We are very talented, but we just haven't all put it together quite yet. We need to keep pushing each other every day in order to be successful," Hyte said.

"I realize that being a freshman I have a point to prove when I step out onto the court. I have to pay attention and listen to the upperclassmen in order to be successful on and off the tennis court," said Brandon Carver, 20, a freshman architecture major from Frankfurt, Ky. "We all have to work together to get better every day. We can't just settle with just being all right, because if we do the results will show it.

The cold climate forces the tennis team to play in Shapiro for all the matches held at Norwich.

"I think this is an advantage that our team has over others because there aren't too many teams in the New England area that play all their matches indoors," Galvez said.

"Practicing indoors all the time should be a huge advantage when teams come into our house and I think we're going to do just fine with Johnson State coming up," Dvorac said.

"I know I have to step up and be a leader when the conference games role around because last year they were taken lightly and we did not do well at all," Hyte said. "These are the matches that mean the most, so we have to come out with a lot of energy and enthusiasm in order to be successful."

"Don't let Emerson's record fool you. In a conference match; it's anyone's match, so we can't take them for granted or else we will lose," said Carver.

The Cadets are currently fourth in the conference..

"I am excited for the rest of the season. I have a lot of high expectations for our team and I hope this last win helped everyone's confidence so we can continue to keep winning," Hyte said.