Serving wins to the court- Read about NGU’s tennis teams and their season this far
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Casey Burton, Sports Editor
North Greenville University’s tennis has officially begun this year. The two teams, men’s tennis and women’s tennis, have had a few matches this year but are still in the early games of their seasons.
The matches so far have been similar to previous years for the teams. The seasons regularly start slower, with not as many wins, but pick up throughout the season once the team gets in the swing of having matches again.
The teams are excited for this year to pick up and have been practicing extra hard to pull through to finish the season strong. The most important aspect of working alongside a team is good bonding. A team that loves and supports each other is more likely to thrive, luckily the tennis teams have just that.
Ashlen Chapman, junior women’s tennis player at North Greenville University, said her favorite part about tennis is that the teams have gotten a lot closer this year.
“This season has not been like any other season in my years here at NGU so far. The team is closer than ever, and it really is a family. Not even just the women’s team, but the men to. We all hang out and practice together; it really is like a family,” Chapman said.
The teams having fun and enjoying their time together will bring them all the steps closer to making the rest of their season full of wins. The dynamic of the team is not like other teams because of a common trait the players bond over; most are international students.
Juan Arbelaez, junior men’s tennis player at North Greenville University, said he appreciates having such a close-knit group of people who are similar to him and finds comfort alongside having many international teammates and friends.
“I am from Colombia and a handful of other international students are on the team. We even have guys from Brazil and there is a comfort for me in knowing that I’m not alone and that can relate to not being from here. Everyone is super nice here, but not everyone understands the way we do”, Arbelaez said.
Finding the right people to perform a sport with is important and the tennis teams have a good foundation of friendship and bonding that will make the season more enjoyable and run smoother. The teams have the same practice and game schedule, so they get a lot of bonding time. This will show improvement of the court and will make the teams more successful.
The teams are projected to have more winning matches under their wing throughout the remainder of the rest of the season. They have many matches and time to show the community what they are made of in the next coming months. After reviewing past matches, they discuss and practice what needs improvement and are ready to keep progressing as the season moves forward.
