After back-to-back road trips, the No. 34 men’s tennis team has earned its highest ranking of the season as it travels to Columbia, S.C. for a matcup with the Gamecocks this afternoon. State will return home for a double-header against Charlotte and UNC Greensboro this Sunday.
“The team is really moving forward,” senior No. 89 Jay Weinacker said. “We started at No. 49 and now were No. 34, so weíre improving after every match.”
The Wolfpack, who is 4-4 this season, will face off against the No. 49 South Carolina Gamecocks for the first time since 2006. The Gamecocks hold the series record 29-15 over the Pack.
“They are a good team,” redshirt freshman Eric Turner said. “But weíre not taking them lightly. Everyone needs to play the way they like to play and that should just take care of business.”
On Feb. 7, the Pack traveled to Nashville, Tenn. to upset No. 14 Michigan before losing a close match to No. 28 Vanderbilt. According to Weinacker, the team has been moving forward and working harder since the weekend in Nashville.
“After we got back from the Michigan weekend we had a new identity,” Weinacker said. “Everyone got out and worked harder in the weight room and out in practice. Everythingís just kind of been a bit cleaner– the win from Michigan was a big confidence boost.”
The weekend proved to be a learning experience, according to coach Jon Choboy.
“There are certain events that happen throughout a season,” Choboy said. “Some may not appear to be good at first, but whatís learned from it turns out to be very beneficial.”
Playing away from home is always challenging for teams, but Weinacker said the Wolfpack tend to play better away from home with something to prove.
“I think sometimes we have more anger about us [when we are away] because we know the fans are going to be getting on us,” Weinacker said. “I think sometimes that helps us, gives us an edge, and if we can figure out how to do that at home and not be so comfortable I think that extra edge might really help us.”
The line-up is still moving around, according to Choboy. This year the team has many new players, or ‘pieces to a puzzle,’ as Choboy calls them. He is still in the process of figuring out where they all fit into place.
“We have a lot of new pieces here, a lot of new players, who are getting their feet wet,” Choboy said. “It’s kind of like a puzzle and we haven’t put them altogether yet because we’re looking for consistency in certain pieces.”
Since Choboy’s main concern is consistency, the team has been focusing on practicing match play, according to Turner.
“We’re working on playing a lot of matches and working on a lot of doubles,” Turner said. “We have been working on closing matches out, and focusing on the court.”
With a young team like this one, Choboy said focusing on the basics is the key to success.
“We are working on individual things,” Choyboy said. “As well as basic things like movement, transition and volley, getting the point started, and decision making during practice.”
Looking back at last year’s team, Choboy said that this team is a lot stronger.
“Last year we have some really good players,” Choboy said. “But I think we have a better team this year and that makes a big difference.”
