Making a roster for a tennis team with both new and experienced players can be challenging, especially when that team has consistently found success and qualified two teams at the 2013 nationals, with one team finishing 32nd in the entire country. However, seniors Taylor Farell and Trevor Zaret, both in their first year as tennis coordinators, have brought a certain chemistry and organization that years past cannot compare to.
“Trevor and Taylor have been great,” senior tennis player Dexter Hoang said. “This is their first year leading it and it has actually been better this year because they are more organized than our last couple leaders. Everything has a schedule. We never used to practice on Fridays, but now we do. It seems like they are just more dedicated to the (team) than previous  coordinators.”
Farrell and Zaret became coordinators following the 2012-13 season as a way to gain experience in management and both have been a part of Oregon club tennis for three years now. They took the job trying to improve upon things that had been done in the past. The two have been in charge of the setup for fundraising and take care of all the financials as far as travel goes.
“Trevor and Taylor are very organized,” freshman Sarah French said. “(They send) emails to us or texts and they understand if we cannot make a practice or something like that. And they have tried to organize more things for us than just the bare minimum.”
This year, Farrell noted that she and Zaret tried to make even more of an effort to participate in tournaments around the Northwest region. The team will be against teams such as Willamette, Oregon State and the George Fox men’s teams in February. Winners of the past three regional tournaments, the expectations are to compete locally and nationally as the seasons winds to a close.
With a somewhat young team though, the outlook could be different. In September, Farrell and Zaret, along with their experienced teammates, handpicked six new men’s players and five new women’s players out of a pool of about 80 individuals combined.
As noted by the coordinators and Hoang alike, the expectations are the same if not higher for the spring season.
“I expect us to win regionals,” Hoang said. “Last year we finished maybe like 30th in the nation, but with this team I have never been more confident.”
The reason why Hoang and others are as confident as they are is because of a certain chemistry and bond that has developed this year under the management of Farrell and Zaret. The management has been key and both of them were aided in the fall with this issue by taking a class offered at the UO that helped them involving team-oriented problems.
In an environment more focused on self-preparation, both Farrell and Zaret can be cited as the reason why the bond between the 25 players on this team is the way it is.
“I definitely look at them as leaders,” Hoang said. “They are always the ones I go to when I need someone regarding the team or outside of the team.”
Follow Justin Wise on Twitter @JWISE25
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