Freshman helping to push program forward
The St. Bonaventure men’s tennis team concluded its 2018 fall season on Sunday, Oct. 28 at the Army Invitational.
The Army Military Academy hosted an invitational that spanned over a three-days from the Oct. 28 to Oct. 30. The tournament consisted of three days of singles and doubles play in a group stage format.
The Army Invitational was the end of the men’s tennis team’s fall season. The team goes into the winter season with the belief it is “a lot closer than it has been,” junior player John Rutkowski said.
Compared to teams of the past, the team dynamic has changed.
The team brought in three freshmen in the fall recruiting class and have brought excitement to the program,
“With a freshman class of three freshman want a more team-oriented atmosphere,” Rutkowski said.
The team had one of their worst spring seasons in recent years. The freshman have been of great help in improving the team on the court.
“The freshman adapted well to college tennis and showed a lot of fight,” Rutkowski said.
As the team moves into spring season, over the offseason they believe there are improvements to be made. When it comes to high stakes situations, the team wants to be sharper and remain in touch with their abilities they developed in the fall season and be prepared for the match play.
“We hope to be more mentally sharp during match play situations,” Rutkowski said.
Staying focused is a major priority for the team this offseason. “Not slacking off,” is something Rutkowski said they hope to do during the offseason by continuing to improve on the strides they made during the much-improved fall season.
Along with the improvements the team made in fall season and the changes they hope to make during the winter, they have expectations for the spring. The team hopes to improve on their placement in the Atlantic 10 and avoid any losses to team they know they are more talented then.
The graduated players from last years team brings a whole new group of players into the spotlight.
“After losing our top two players it puts a lot of pressure on the returners forcing everyone to step up on and off the court to fill the shoes and coming off one of our worst seasons we hope to reclaim bad losses from last year,” Rutkowski said. “The team believes that their talent was not reflected by its record from last season during the spring and by avoiding bad losses we can improve their position in the Atlantic 10.”
The men’s tennis team opens its spring season on Friday, Jan. 18 at Loyola College in Maryland. The team hopes its own expectations and hope for improvements will drive them to have success in the upcoming season.
By John Pullanski, Staff Writer
pullanjj18@bonaventure.edu
