As the men’s and women’s tennis teams finish off their final fall tournaments, they begin to prepare for the spring season. The women’s team competed in the Harvard Invitational from Nov. 5 to Nov. 7 this past weekend, battling it out against Air Force, Brown, Harvard and Syracuse. The tournament had ups and downs for the Red. “We had a really close match against Syracuse. They are one of our biggest rivals. For three of the six singles matches, we went to tiebreakers,” said senior captain Sinziana Chis. Coach Mike Stevens also discussed some of the mixed feelings he had about the Red’s performance. “The results were a little bit disappointing. We closed on a high note though, beating Harvard at first and second doubles,” Stevens said. “I think the girls would agree that we were hoping the results would be a little better. But we showed some improvement from last time, so that was good.”Especially as the fall season draws to a close, Stevens recognizes that this invitational is important because it helps prepare the team for what’s next.“All the teams there were very good,” Stevens said. “There was great competition, which is what we want. That’s certainly the competition we’re going to be up to against in the Ivy League in the spring. It shows us what there is, what we need to improve and that’s exactly what we want from the fall tournaments.”Men’s coach, Tom Bresky, shares a similar outlook towards the men’s tournaments this fall. “We had a good fall and the guys were able to compete a lot, play in a lot of tournaments. Hopefully that helps for when the spring rolls in,” Bresky said. Now both the men’s and women’s teams are technically in off-season. They use this time to prepare for the spring season, which begins in January.“We’re focusing a lot more on building and conditioning,” Chis said. The men’s team is doing the same. “Everyone is getting into the weight room, starting a routine with that,” said senior captain Andy Gauthier. “We’re working on conditioning. Coach [Bresky] is very adamant about that, about everyone being in shape … It will definitely make a difference in the spring.”The Red is working hard with goals in mind for the spring season. Chis and Stevens talked about the Red’s goals on the women’s side. “We’re hoping to beat our record from last year, hopefully go 5-2 in the Ivy League,” Chis said.“We just want to make sure that we come back with a work ethic, make sure we’re getting better every day,” Stevens said. “We are going to have good game plans for each individual (singles and doubles). We want to compete the best we can when we get to the Ivy season. Our goal is to work as hard as we can all year long and when we get to the Ivy season that is when we want to be reaching our peak and excelling.”On the men’s side, Bresky and Gauthier discussed their ambitions to win the Ivy Title. “Our goals are consistent,” Bresky said. “The ultimate goal for any team at Cornell is to win an Ivy title. We have five seniors on the roster this year who are likely to get a lot of playing time and play a big role. We have guys that are very focused and have been working hard throughout their careers.”“We definitely want to win the Ivy League, that’s our top priority,” Gauthier said. “We are going to be doing whatever we can to make that happen. I think it could happen. We have a bunch of seniors, five starting seniors, so we want to send all those guys out with an Ivy League ring.”The men’s next appearance will be at the Cornell Invitational kicking off Jan. 15. The women’s team won’t take the court until two weeks after that, at its own Cornell Winter Invitational starting on Jan. 28.
Original Author: Dani Abada