The men’s (11-13) and women’s (15-8) tennis teams seasons ended after getting axed in the first round of the conference tournament.
The men’s team finished the season earning the second seed in the Southland Tournament and faced off against the third seeded University of Lamar Cardinals. Lamar took a 4-1 victory with Nicholls’ only win coming from Dutch freshman Bernard Wezeman.
The 15 wins in the regular season are the most for the women’s team since 1999. They also finished the season with a 4-1 loss, but it came at the hands of Stephen F. Austin. German sophomore Isla Brock took home the Colonels’ lone victory in singles action.
Head Coach Meenakshi Sundaram believes the women’s team is ready to compete for a championship next season, but said the men have plenty of work to do.
“Some of the guys are not on the same page as I am. When they get on the same page, then we may actually have a shot at winning something. It is not about going through the motions, getting your scholarship and getting out,” Sundaram said. “On the girls’ side, it is the opposite. They bought in to what I am trying to do here. The freshmen have no idea how tough it is to make it because we have not made it in quite a while.”
One of the freshman women coming off of a promising year is Stephanie Barnett from Australia, who finished the season 15-6 overall and 9-3 in conference play. Barnett said everyone is trying to cope with the first-round loss, but is confident they can rebound.
“As a young team, we are all developing players so we have never experienced this before. So we have to take positive things from it and use it next year,” Barnett said. “Everyone is still disappointed, but we have to let it go and focus on what we need to work on, so we can get better. Everyone is eager to win, so we should be alright.”
One of the areas the men’s team will look to focus on is improving their toughness. Australian sophomore Evan Karatzas believes a lack of mental preparation and toughness played a major role in their first round exit.
“The other team was sharper and got off to a better start and were able to put us away and finish the job,” Karatzas said. “From the first point to the last point, we have to put it all out there.”
Sundaram believes his team needs to do a better job executing, instead of going through the motions. He believes once his men’s team buys into that, then they can compete for championships.
Heading into the offseason, Sundaram said he will give each of his players a list of things to work on over the summer break, but said it is up to them as to whether or not they put in the work.
“They have to learn their lesson and know what I expect,” Sundaram said. “If they don’t want to win, then they can sit on their backsides and enjoy the summer.”