The men’s and women’s tennis teams will complete their respective fall seasons this weekend, as the men will host the Cornell Fall Indoor Invitational, while the women will participate in the Big Green Invitational in Hanover, N.H. Both squads are optimistic and look to head into the offseason on a positive note.
The men’s team is coming off a tough tournament last week at the Northeast Regional Championships, which was hosted by Dartmouth. Juniors Josh Raff and Nick Brunner were the No. 1 seeded doubles team and made it to the quarterfinals, where they were beaten 8-3 by Yale’s Brandon Wei and Josh Lederman. The tandem had high expectations going in, but they fell to tough competition.
“We don’t feel great [after last weekend],” said men’s head coach Barry Schoonmaker. “We had hoped to do better.”
Despite the difficult weekend, the men’s team is looking forward to today’s invitational. Schoonmaker is giving the players that competed at the Regionals a break this weekend, letting the younger players get some match experience. Many of the Red players will be playing for the first time in a college match.
“This is a good chance for the newer guys to get some experience,” Schoonmaker said. “Playing in a tournament is very different from playing in practice or the tennis they’ve played at high school.”
Going into the offseason, the invitational serves as an opportunity for the future stars to spread their wings.
“It let’s us see what the guys can offer the team next spring,” Schoonmaker said.
Over the winter break, the Red will continue to train, as it will be lifting weights on a regular basis.
The women’s tennis team is also gearing up for its final tournament of the fall. The team is coming off a strong tournament last week at the ITA Championships. The Red had mixed results, getting a victory from the doubles team of senior Mollie Edinson and freshman Shayna Miller.
“I feel pretty enthusiastic,” said women’s head coach Laura Glitz. “It showed the team that they are right there. We played a lot of good matches.”
The women’s team is in for more tough competition at the Big Green Invitational this weekend. The tournament will serve as a good practice against some of the teams Cornell will be facing next spring.
“We’ll get to play a lot of Ivies at the Dartmouth tournament,” said junior Nisha Suda. “We will also get to play against good teams like Ohio St.”
Win or lose this weekend, the women’s team is optimistic about how it has been playing going into the break.
“We’ve had a few hard tournaments,” Suda said. “They challenge us, but also prepare us to be a tougher team. Next spring, we’ll be ready for any surprises.”
Cornell is sending a mix of competitors to Dartmouth this weekend, with two seniors, one junior, and three freshmen scheduled to play.
“I’m excited for the last tournament,” Glitz said. “Hopefully we will be able to close out some matches.”
Archived article by Matt Sarnak
Sun Staff Writer