While many BU students were tanning on beaches over spring break, the men’s and women’s tennis teams were sweating it out on the court.
The men’s team played three games in Florida, losing to Bucknell University and St. John’s University by identical 7-0 scores, and Florida Gulf Coast University, 5-2. The Terriers then returned to Boston to host Villanova University, and came up on the short end of a tight 4-3 match up.
The Terriers are now 1-12, but the record never tells the whole story.
‘St. John’s is a very good team, and the other matches we were in, we were competitive,’ BU coach Rick Edelmann said. ‘Against Villanova, we were actually tied and wound up losing the next two sets, but we played well. We have to finish our doubles and singles, but it was encouraging.’
Despite the losses, Edelmann remains optimistic about his team’s motivation.
‘The players come ready to play every day,’ Edelmann said.’ ‘They’ve been playing hard the whole season, and every match is a battle. We’re always very close, but we come out on the short end, which is tough, but what’s remarkable is that our guys come out the next match ready to play with the same intensity. The mindset is good, but we don’t have a whole lot of results to show for it.’
Edelmann recognized senior Charles Weinstein and junior Jeff Chudacoff as the team’s leaders on the court this weekend.
‘Jeff and Charles were very productive in doubles this week,’ Edelmann said. ‘Jeff won a huge match against Florida for us, playing particularly well. They really stepped up.’
Edelmann said he sees a bright future ahead.
‘I feel like some of the teams we’ve already played make up the strongest part of our schedule, and we’ve really battled at every match, so I’m hoping for some more success’ Edelmann said. ‘We improved in some of the doubles matches, and we’re getting close to getting our co-captain back. We’ll be healthy, and ready to head into the better part of our schedule.’
The men return to action against Sacred Heart University this Saturday.
The women’s team had a bit more success, going 2-2 over spring break. The Terriers were victorious over James Madison University, 5-2, and Florida Atlantic University, 7-0 ‘-‘- their third sweep of the season. BU lost two very close matches by identical 4-3 tallies against the University of Richmond and No. 52 Florida International University.
BU coach Lesley Sheehan was pleased with her team’s performance, but recognizes that her players are capable of playing better.
‘We have a really good team, so my expectations are really high,’ Sheehan said. ‘We’re trying to improve our doubles, especially since we lost doubles points a lot this week. In practice, we’re trying to get every player ready so we can count on them one through six.’
The Terriers are 9-3 this season. All three losses have been close with final scores of 4-3.
‘In both our losses this week, we only lost by a little bit’ Sheehan said. ‘We always lose to Florida International pretty easily, but this year it came down to the last match, and we made it really close. We just have to get over that hump.’
Senior Cori Lefkowith and freshman Stefanie Nunic led the Terriers in their effort this weekend. They went 4-0 combined in their singles matches.
Overall, Sheehan is impressed with her team and expects good things on the horizon.
‘I only take it one match at a time,’ Sheehan said. ‘I’ve learned not to take anything for granted, but we’re in good shape going into the next part of the season. We’ll be seeded number one in the tournament.’
This Saturday, the women will face No. 42 Yale University, but Sheehan said she remains confident.
‘We have to play well, but we have the ability to beat them,’ Sheehan said.
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