The men’s tennis team started off their 2020 spring season this past Sunday, against Davidson. The Eagles return six of their players from last season, two including key senior players Connor Williamson and Gabriel Dias.
Ready to take on the season, Williamson spoke on the big goal of the season, “My main goal is to obviously win the Big South tournament because that is the main goal that our team works towards everyday.”
Along with the six returning players for the Eagles, the team welcomes four new freshmen who are eager to take on the season. Those freshman include: Dillon Boshart from Florida, Enzo Silveira from Brazil, Abhimanyu Vannemreddy from India, and Miha Velicki from Slovenia.
Returning player, Lluis Miralles, believes new faces for the team is going to be a strength for the team.
“We have four freshman and that is something that some people might think is a negative but is actually a positive, but I can also see it the other way, we have different perspectives that can help us be better as a team. We have three seniors and two juniors, that will also help us,” Miralles said.
With all of these new faces for the team, the older Eagles have a role to fill. Senior Bernardo Kayat is aware of the younger potential.
“We have a very young team and it is important for the older guys to step up and make a difference for those guys, on and off the court,” Kayat said.
A returning face for the Eagles, an underclassmen, to be on the lookout for this season is Spaniard Lluis Miralles. Despite Miralles finishing his first season with a 3-10 record in singles competition, he is confident this year will be better.
“Last year I didn’t have the year I would have liked result wise, so this year I hope that I can bounce back and get much better results in order to help the team,” Miralles said.
In order to prepare for the season Miralles has set some goals for himself in order to achieve all things possible.
“One of the personal goals that I have is being able to apply all that I have been working on this fall, personally and as a team,” Miralles said
The Eagles have been in constant preparation to take on the court to their fullest potential, whether it be running, conditioning, weights, or team building exercises.
“We have been working really hard since August to get into the right place as a team. I want to apply all of those things that I have been practicing on the court during the matches, that would be the biggest goal that I have,” Miralles said.
Although in singles the players compete individually, tennis is a collective team sport — every player’s efforts matter and this year, “we are a big team, eleven players, six who play singles, and three doubles, the same six can play or we can mix it up, everyone will have to put in their effort and contribute to the team in order for us to be successful,” Miralles said. “Me personally, my biggest goal, is to be able to win as many matches as I can in order to contribute and help the team.”
With lots of new and old talent on the team for the Eagles, the men’s team has an exciting season to look forward to.
“As a team, one of the biggest strengths that we have, we have a very solid team, we have five new freshman and our coach has been able to put up a very good and competitive team,” Miralles said. “It feels like in practice we are competing against each other everyday to earn a spot in the line up in order to play. We are competing everyday at practice, so that means when we get into our matches we will be even more prepared and I think that is going to be a big strength for us this year.”
The men’s team are a very close group of boys, they spend lots of time together on and off the court, creating a bond like no other. “A great thing about this team—we have always been like a family and the fact that we are from everywhere in the world, all around the world, helps a lot with that fact, we are the only family we have in the United States, most of us, being so close to each other helps out,” Miralles said.
Photo provided by Winthrop Athletics
