Tennis is normally a fall sport, but this spring, the men’s and women’s teams will have an additional mini season.
The teams planned to have their first competition last Friday, Feb. 18 against Roosevelt University, but unforeseen circumstances forced Roosevelt to cancel the match.Two matches remain on the schedule for the men’s team and one for the women’s team.
The men will compete against Olivet Nazarene University at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 18, at home, while the women will wait to kick off their season with a double header against Bethel University in April.
The players have been training since the fall and travel to Eastlake, an indoor facility in Warsaw, a couple of times a week for practice.
“The current tennis season is turning out to be challenging so far,” said Kevin Bollmann, a sophomore on the team. “At the beginning of the spring semester, we had to deal with two important losses of our starting players, Josh and Jonah.”
Josh Friesen is a senior this year and competed in his last match for the Leafs in the fall. Jonah Anderson, a freshman from South Africa, chose to make the journey back to his hometown after the fall season.
Despite the losses, the team is working hard to prepare for its first match, Bollmann said.
“It is important that we continue to train in fitness as well as on the court,” he said, “to prepare ourselves as best as possible for the first matches and to gather match practice to have a successful start to our spring and fall seasons.”
“While the season is short, I am really grateful that we get the opportunity to at least compete a few times this spring,” Bollmann said. “It is always a highlight to see the entire team and to interact with everybody.”
The men will compete against Olivet Nazarene University at 4 p.m. on Friday, March 18, at home.
