Junior Berkeley Brock and sophomore Lenka Hojckova were selected to compete in the ITA All American tennis tournament in Malibu, Calif. last weekend. They were selected based on their regional record to compete with the top tennis players in the country.
According to coach Hans Olsen, it’s not about how far they advance, it’s about being around some of the best college tennis players in the nation.
“It’s the highest level and considered one of the grand slams of college tennis,” Olsen said of the ITA tournament. “For our players it’s just about being in that arena of the best players in the country, that’s where they need to be — that’s where they gain their confidence.”
Brock and Hojckova both won the first round but suffered losses in the second round of prequalifying matches. The duo had more success making it to the third round, beating some tough, ranked opponents, Olsen said.
Assistant coach Alison Silverio said any win at this level against all ranked players is a great win.
“They got a chance to play against some national champions,” Silverio said. “No doubt that winning a match at that level brings great confidence.”
Being at this elite athletic level, the student athletes have to learn time management early on to succeed on and off the court and travel to far away tournaments.
“Sometimes it’s hard to balance,” Brock said. “But its also a good way for us to manage our time better — we learn to get homework assignments and studying done ahead of time especially when we travel.”
As a student athlete, Brock said it is a big responsibility that has its advantages and disadvantages.
“We travel a lot and have early morning practices and it does cut into the majority of our time,” Brock said. “But it’s a lot of fun at the same time and we get a lot of privileges that other students don’t– It’s a positive experience on the whole.”
The women’s tennis team has almost always had a GPA of a 3.0 or higher and has one of the top athletic team GPA’s on campus. Olsen prides himself on ensuring that his team manages academic life as well as tennis life especially when on the road.
“A lot of the skills that work on the tennis court work in the classroom,” Olsen said. “In tennis they have to dig down deep and work things out on their own. They have a personal responsibility to the court and their game and that transfers well into the classroom and vice versa.”
These skills are vital during the fall season for the women’s tennis team. This time is primarily used for tournaments all of which are away. The team will be on the road until Jan. 16, the team’s first home match.
“Things like [traveling a lot] can be very tough,” Silverio said. “But for tennis players, so many qualities that relate to life in general transfer to the tennis court. The success on the court will correlate to what they’re doing here at N.C. State.”
As well as a tournament-heavy season, the fall is a season focused on individuals. The scores of the matches are reported individually and the whole team rarely gets to travel together.
“As a whole, tennis teams have that understanding that certain players go to certain tournaments,” Silverio said. “We are very fortunate here that the girls are really supportive know what kind of opportunity it is individually.”
