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Volume CXXXII, Number 23 |
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Tennis tunes up for nationals
MIKE BALULESCU
STAFF WRITER
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| Colin Joyner '03, NESCAC player of the year, winds up for a return. (Courtesy of Steve Felker '74) |
Don't be fooled by the plethora of Lacoste tennis shirts on campus this time of year-Bowdoin's true tennis stars number only ten, and they are far too busy winning to keep up with Freeport's latest spring fashion offerings. All ten of those genuine tennis studs are fired up today, as they begin the first round of the national tournament this afternoon against their old nemesis and NESCAC rival Tufts University.
Expectations are high for the Polar Bears, despite a lukewarm performance at the NESCAC tournament this past weekend. Still, the Bowdoin men have plenty to cheer about, as senior captain Colin Joyner was recently recognized as NESCAC player of the year.
Additionally, he received the Chafe Award which is given every spring to the NESCAC player that most exemplifies the tenants of good sportsmanship. In the NESCACs, he lost a close final match in his singles flight. However, with the help of fellow senior Nick MacLean, Joyner won the doubles flight overall.
All together, Bowdoin finished third overall in the NESCAC tournament. "We didn't have the best weekend as a team," said captain August Felker '03, "but there were definitely some individual highlights. Colin [Joyner] has played great tennis all year; he is most deserving of the accolades."
Coach Jane Paterson was not deterred by the weekend's results. "[The weekend] was certainly a mixed bag," said Paterson. "I felt like we could have won the whole thing, but this is a tough league, and you can't underestimate the strength of the opposition."
The Bowdoin men hit the road today for the long drive to Williamstown, Massachusetts for the first round of the NCAA Division III national tournament. The Polar Bears have always had a huge rivalry with the Tufts men, and it is more than fitting that they play them in the first round. Bowdoin already beat Tufts 5-2 this year, and Paterson is hoping for a repeat of that performance. "We love to beat Tufts," she said with a smile.
If the men take out Tufts in the first round, they will face the winner of the Williams/Rochester game. Bowdoin already beat Rochester 5-2 in March but has not faced off against Williams this spring. "It would be great to play the Williams men," said Paterson. "They're a team we've been shooting for for years."
If the Polar Bears are successful in Williamstown this weekend, they would advance to the Final Eight, hosted this year by Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota.
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