This year, the UMD Tennis Club enlisted 200 students on their roster, achieving record numbers. Throughout the season, they played regular season matches against Georgetown, UMBC, George Washington, and John Hopkins. UMD Tennis Club won all of their matches and, for the first time in club tennis history, these matches were open to all players on the team (not just the top ranked travel players). This allowed ample opportunity for those who are not typically involved in competitions to participate in matches, as well as get some quality experience.
After coming off a 16th place finish in the National Tournament last year (out of 64 teams invited), UMD’s competitive team is training harder than ever to pursue their goal of winning the National Tournament. To prepare for this tournament, the team played (and excelled) in the following tournaments this past semester:
- Legg Mason Classic in DC - This tournament included four invited teams (including UMD) to participate in a tournament alongside the USTA Legg mason Tournament. They watched the pros play, spoke with them, and even played with them as a large crowd looked on. UMD won the tournament, and enjoyed a fantastic experience!
- Battle of the Sections in NY - This tournament took place at the US Open Courts at Flushing Meadows, NY (in Queens) a week after the US open ended. It included 16 schools from around the East Coast. UMD Tennis Club came in 2nd place to Penn State, but UMD won the Sportsmanship Award for the tournament (other schools voted for this award). UMD also had the opportunity to hit in Arthur Ashe Stadium, which is the biggest tennis stage in America.
- USTA Virginia Fall Invitational in VA - This tournament included 24 schools from around the nation. UMD tied for 5th place (with UVA), and had the closest match in program history against JMU-- It came down to the last point to determine the winner of the match, in which UMD scored the winning point!
- 2010 USTA Tennis on-Campus Fall Invitational in Arkansas – The UMD Tennis Club flew to Little Rock, Arkansas to participate in the first TOC Fall Invitational run by the USTA, with over 20 participating teams. UMD earned 2nd place, losing a close game against Alabama with a score of 22-20. This tournament showed the players a great time, especially due to the player party held for the teams after the tournament!
The UMD Tennis Club is now preparing for the more important tournaments of next semester, including both the Sectional and National Tournaments!
1 comment:
Go Maryland Club Tennis! Good luck at Sectionals!
Post a Comment