With the fall semester's victories against the club teams from University at Buffalo and Syracuse University, the men's club tennis team looks forward to another successful season in the spring.
The team's president, junior David Schweizer, believes that his team is "the most overlooked and underfunded team on campus." He said there are almost 50 people on the team that have joined because they simply have fun playing tennis.
"The ultimate goal of our team," said Schweizer "is to have fun and meet new people that play tennis." He said that the team tries to create a comfortable atmosphere but still train and be victorious in their matches.
Sophomore Jeff Swails, who competed as first singles last semester, said he believes the team has succeeded in creating that atmosphere. Swails said for him the team is about, "finding people who love tennis and playing in a relaxed, but competitive atmosphere."
The team accepts anybody who wants to join, as in the nature of club sports, but fuels inner competition to decide who plays for points in their matches. Out of the almost 50 men on the team, only 18 get to play in games that score points for each team. There are four doubles teams and ten singles matches, while the rest play in exhibition matches.
The team hosts a ladder of all the players on the team to determine a rank on the team. The rank would then decide who gets to play for points in which matches.
While there is a women's varsity tennis team, there is no men's varsity team. Schweizer said that he believes that should change, and cites his evidence as the quality group of tennis players they have accumulated without a varsity team.
"If we could become a varsity team," said Schweizer "we could really compete on a Division I level with the talented team we have." He went on to say that proper coaching and greater incentive for commitment would be two key components to getting this team to that level.
Swails on the other hand, respectfully disagreed with his president about being Division I caliber squad. "I think we could definitely jump into the Division III level and get accustomed to it rather quickly," said Swails. He added that Geneseo would be able to attract more gifted male tennis players with the addition of a varsity team.
"I'd love to have a varsity team," said Swails "We'd definitely have the interest." He noted that Geneseo has a number of courts to use, and that it wouldn't impede too much on the women's team.
Swails also said he also believes that the strong women's team would help improve an emerging men's team. "There's a lot of talent [on the women's team] there..." said Swails "It would help create a sense of community for tennis players."
The club team played against the women's varsity team last semester and scratched out a tie. Swails said that the draw was both rewarding and the highlight of the season for the men's club. They have matches against Colgate and University of Rochester this semester and Schweizer said that they hope to test their luck against the women's varsity team again.
People interested in joining the club can e-mail tennis@geneseo.edu for more details.