The No. 38 men’s tennis team (8-0) will host the highest-ranked opponent on its nonconference schedule as No. 55 Old Dominion (4-2) visits the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center today at 3 p.m. According to coach Jon Choboy, the match should prove challenging, though the team looks forward to the match.
“[Today] will probably be a tougher task than what we’ve had up to this point,” Choboy said. “But we’ve met the challenge pretty well, so hopefully we’ll come out and do it again [today]. It’ll be good because our guys want to rise to the challenge, and I think they’re looking forward to it.”
Choboy said ODU provides a tough matchup for the team because the Monarchs feature several of the premier singles and doubles players in the country. ODU features the No. 7 singles player in the nation in sophomore Harel Srugo as well as the No. 18 singles player in senior Henrique Cancado. The Monarchs’ duo also competes together in doubles and is No. 6 in the nation as a doubles pair.
Juniors Nick Cavaday and Ben Zink will have the task of facing the duo in doubles today. Cavaday, who sat out last match in order to allow himself postseason eligibility, said he looks forward to returning to the lineup for an arduous double’s and single’s task.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Cavaday said. “It’s been 10 days since the last time I was able to play a match and watching is kind of frustrating when you want to get out and play.”
Zink said he looks forward to returning to doubles play with Cavaday, as the two boast a 5-0 record together this season. He also said the team is confident coming into the match because of their intense practices.
“We’re very confident right now,” Zink said. “We had a great practice today, and it shows. I mean, everyone’s coming out and doing their job, getting what they need to get done and just playing really well.”
According to Choboy, the Pack will focus on its personal play and not worry about rankings or ODU players in the match.
“We’ll just worry about what we do on our side of the net,” Choboy said. “If we take care of business on our side, I don’t think they can do much to take it away from us.”
In his three years at State, Zink said this year’s team stands out as the best he has ever been a part of.
“The other two teams I’ve played with have been great as well,” Zink said. “But I feel we have a chance to go far this year, as does the rest of the team, so we all have that kind of confidence that we’re going to do good things.”
According to Choboy, the atmosphere in practice coming into this match is particularly competitive and exciting, as players realize they have something to prove in facing a talented ODU team.
“Before we play matches we usually compete a little bit; we’re a little bit chippy in practice, a little bit edgy, which is typical before a match,” Choboy said. “Guys [are] getting after each other, really competing and pushing each other, and that’s what they were doing today. That’s a pretty good sign that people are obviously focused on what they’ve got to do tomorrow. They’ve got a little bit to go and prove, so they’ll go out and do it.”
Zink agreed if State brings the energy it has shown in practice the past few weeks, ODU and any other team will have their hands full trying to compete.
“You play how you practice, so if everyone comes out and does what they need to do and is confident and energized, then they’re going to play that way,” Zink said. “That’s what we’ve been doing, especially the past couple of weeks.”
