After impressive performances last year, the Oregon club tennis team has high hopes as it looks to build off of those recent successes. The team finished 18th at nationals out of 64 teams last April, much to the excitement of co-captain Hayley Standage.
“We were excited about placing so high,” Standage reflected. “We were in a hard bracket, but we played tough.”
The Oregon team is also riding high on its most recent showing at regionals in Portland. The team’s tough play not only gave it a second place finish in the tournament, but also earned it a berth into the upcoming national championships.
Co-captain Amanda Lee was content with the second place finish, and was also proud of her team’s efforts. Lee complimented training and “twice a week practices” as the reasoning for their strong performances. Lee also praised the play of Allison Bostrom.
“She had only lost three games in the entire tournament,” Lee said. “So she was playing really well.”
Lee also commented on the upcoming nationals tournament in April, saying that their goal would be to finish in the top 10.
The team is on the brink of a hot streak, winning the USTA Tennis on Campus Pacific Northwest Regional Tournament as well as the Western Washington University Tournament last season. Good team effort, rigorous practices, as well as good leadership by Standage and Lee have molded the team into an excellent tennis squad.
The two captains not only led the team through tournaments, but also through practices and training. Having no head coach, Standage and Lee handle all major responsibilities of the team including scheduling practices, leading fundraising projects, and coordinating all team members.
“It’s hard work to get 30 (teammates) together,” Standage said. “But it is not the most difficult thing for us. The hardest thing for us to do is fundraising.”
The team doesn’t receive enough funds from the ASUO to cover all its expenses, so it has to fundraise as much as possible. Fundraisers the team has done in the past include cleaning up McArthur Court after games and events, donations and earnings raised through Track Town Pizza, as well as sending out fundraising letters.
However, the fundraising paired with the team’s busy practice schedule, has kept the group really close.
“I have met some of my good friends through the team,” Standage said. “And we all hang out together outside of practice.”
Standage also noted that most of the team trains persistently outside of its scheduled practices.
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