This past June, the Winthrop University Board of Trustees unanimously voted to discontinue the men’s and women’s tennis program amidst financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several of the student athletes associated with the program have chosen to remain at Winthrop, which for some means attending their first academic semester in years without swinging a racquet.
“It does feel weird, you know?” said Abhimanyu Vannemreddy, a sophomore finance major and former student–athlete for Winthrop’s men’s tennis team. “It’s been a long time since I’ve actually played tennis. It’s different, because you see other athletes around doing their thing and it feels like you were a part of that just a couple of months ago. But now all of a sudden you’re not.”
Winthrop’s dual tennis programs were among the most successful athletic teams that the university offered. The women’s tennis program captured 21 Big South Conference Championship wins and earned 17 NCAA Tournament bids in its tenure. According to the Winthrop Athletics website, the program took home it’s first NCAA win in a 4-3 victory against Auburn University in 2018.
The men’s tennis program was also quite prolific, achieving nine regular season championships, 12 runner-up finishes and seven tournament wins while it was active. For many student athletes in the program, the sudden elimination of a successful, hard working team was a shock.
“I was a little upset of course, but I kind of understood where they were coming from. Managing finances right now is important, and lots of tennis programs across the country have been cut because of COVID. It happened to us unfortunately as well, but it’s something we have to deal with and move on,” Vannemreddy said.
Returning student athletes who had committed to participating in the program will retain their scholarships throughout their undergraduate years at Winthrop, as will new coming students who signed National Letters of Intent for the 2020-2021 school year. According to Vannemreddy, almost all of the tennis athletes from the previous year remained enrolled at Winthrop, with the exception of Lluis Miralles, who transferred to West Florida University.
Although Interim Winthrop President George Hynd released a letter in which he confirmed that the university has no intention of reinstating the tennis program, Vannemreddy said he will not give up hope.
“I just hope if the tennis program could come back, that would be great, not just for us as tennis players, but for the Winthrop community,” Vannemreddy said. “All of the tennis players were international last year, so we brought in a lot of diversity and obviously we have the results.
“We brought a lot of diversity and different perspectives into the Winthrop community, which I think we need at a time like this with racial issues coming around in America. I think it would’ve been a great bonus if Winthrop could’ve shown solidarity with us and for us if they fought to keep the program.”
Photo courtesy of Winthrop Athletics
