Eagles look to stay hot heading into Big South Conference Tournament; 10 straight not enough

By Hannah Schwartz

schwartzh@mytjnow.com

The men’s tennis team has struck fire at the right time with the Big South tournament right around the corner, beginning on April 21. Photo by Claire VanOstenbridge • vanostenbridgec@mytjnow.comThe men’s tennis team has won 10 in a row, but that’s not enough for them. They have their eyes set on the Big South tournament that will be held in Rock Hill starting on April 21.

“Our main goal is the Big South, definitely,” said senior Sergey Belov. Beyond the tournament, the Eagles’ goal is to win as many matches as possible. Belov hopes the team can stretch its streak to 13 or 14.

The Eagles suffered some early loses that could have derailed the season, but coach Cid Carvalho thinks the team is playing its best tennis of the season now. He points to the win over conference rival Radford as the start of the winning streak. “Pulling out some good matches always builds up the players’ confidence, and tennis is a game of confidence,” he said.

One of the contributors to the Eagles’ recent strong run is the mild spring weather. Those early loses came after only a couple  weeks of practice, and the team does not have an indoor facility to use. 

“The weather is getting way better,” Belov said. “We kind of got in shape, physically and technically.”

Junior Dejon Bivens also likes the way the year has played out. 

“So far, the season is going very well in terms of our ability as a team to reach our solid potential in the middle of the season,” he said. 

Bivens sees it as a vast improvement over last year, which he described as a tough season from start to finish. A season ago, the team lost many close matches early on. 

“This year, a lot of the players have sort of found their range early.” Bivens said. 

Another key factor to the team’s success has been the ability to play cohesively. Even if one of the players has a bad day, the others on the team pick him up. They have confidence in their teammates.

“We don’t have any stars,’” Carvalho said. “I think it’s mainly a collective effort where everybody goes out there and contributes everyday.”

Bivens agrees with his coach that the team has a lot of cohesion, but he thinks that everyone on the team is a superstar. 

“There are personalities on the team,” he said. “Everyone has a chance to shine.”

As the season winds down, the team is focused on finishing strong. Bivens understands the regular-season record won’t help the Eagles in the tournament. They need to focus on one match at a time to win it all. 

“They are not going to give it to us,”  he said.