After a successful end to their season last year, the men’s and women’s tennis teams have begun their last run for a Lone Star Conference title as well as another successful postseason.
The teams hit the weights and condition before sunrise, and practice up to three hours per day to prepare for an expected path to the 2013 National Championships.
Both teams are confident this season with many new faces swinging their rackets, including Nada Marjanovic for the women’s team. Marco Bensley, a South African, and Nicklas Wingord from Buenos Aires, Argentina, play for the men’s team.
The team reached the national tournament for the past two years and expects to reach the national tournament for their third consecutive season.
Senior Alfredo Desiati from Rome, Italy, believes this year’s team is ACU’s best ever.
“We have a solid team with high expectations for ourselves. I expect to win the conference title, play our best during regionals and try to compete at our highest level at nationals. If all of us play our best that week, I think we’ll have a pretty good chance winning nationals,” Desiati said.
Like all teams have their rivals, ACU has multiple within the LSC and nationally. Saint Edwards University has always given ACU trouble throughout the years.
“We’ve always been better than them in conference play, but we always seem to have minor problems that lead to us losing. So this year we are looking forward to destroying them,” Desiati said.
Junior, Micah Hermsdorf was awarded ITA Academic All-American last fall and looks to play conference rivals Cameron and Midwestern State.
“Usually at nationals we meet Lynn University a rival the past few years. For years we never beat them in team tennis, but last year we finally beat them in the quarterfinals,” Hermsdorf said.
The men’s team kicks their season off at home against Oklahoma Christian, Trinity and Tyler College. The women’s team plays Centenary College and Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, LA. Each team plays Feb. 1.
The team would love your support as they play at home this year.
“Most of our matches are right after chapel or in the evenings, so we’d like a big crowd,” Hermsdorf said.
