The NC State club tennis team has grown tremendously over the past couple of years, and that growth has helped the team experience success on the court.
The team has an expectation of excellence now, with the team being ranked as one of the best club programs in the country.
“We did real good last year; we placed seventh in nationals,” said junior lead coordinator and player Grayson Lievens. “We normally make podium in every tournament we go to.”
The size of the club has dramatically increased during Lievens’ time with the team, with the total roster size doubling over the past few years.
“It has grown exponentially,” Lievens said. “Every year it has gotten a little bigger. This year, we had about 120 people signed up for club tennis, and it was probably about 60 my freshman year.”
While club tennis is one of the largest club sports at NC State, members of the club are free to make what they want to out of the club, as players are free to come to only the practices they want to.
“We’re very relaxed on practices, as nothing is required,“ Lievens said. “We have two practices a week for every player, so if they come to every practice, then they’re coming for four hours every week.”
Club tennis is unique in that it is a completely co-ed sport rather than having separate men’s and women’s teams. Instead, the club functions as one complete unit as they win and compete together in tournaments.
“We play five matches when we play other schools,” Lievens said. “It’s one men’s and women’s singles, one men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles (match).”
Ashlie Atento, a junior in the club, said club tennis has positively impacted her college experience.
“The club produces excellent results on the tennis court, but it is also a tremendous way to make friends,” Atento said. “I’ve made a lot of friends through the club. I’ve been able to travel a lot and go to a bunch of other universities like High Point and UNCG. We just get to travel a lot and bond as a team, which is always really fun.”
Having fun and winning makes for quite the positive environment and is what NC State club tennis represents. With many returning players and talented underclassmen, the team looks to improve on their already excellent national finish for this upcoming season.
