Asbury’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are a recognizable bunch, not just at this university, but in the River States Conference and nationally. The women’s tennis team was Asbury’s scholar team of the year, making four straight conference title wins and national top 25 in the NAIA preseason poll.
The teams were only able to compete in five out of the 19 matches last season. So far, the 2020-2021 season has yielded a similar outcome.
“It’s been rough because most of our tournament season is canceled due to COVID,” said senior Choopat “Kai Kai” Suvimolstean. “We had only one tournament during this semester, but normally, we would have at least three.”
“If I’m being honest, this break has really weakened my motivation to increase skill level,” said senior Kendall Leander. “It feels like we just keep practicing, while matches are still so far away and not getting any closer.”
Due to COVID-19, Suvimolstean said that five of his teammates are not currently here due to the pandemic and living abroad. The hope, he says, is that they will be back in the spring to compete.
Leander said the team is out of match shape, but the team being together is fixing that.
“Being able to talk through motivation issues with my teammates has been the biggest help,” she said. “We feed off of each other’s energy, and knowing others expect me to perform a certain way pushes me too.”
Bodyweight weight training from coaches for over quarantine has been a useful tool that the teams have transitioned into workouts now and those workouts are effective, according to Suvimolstean.
Although the coronavirus has changed the way the 2019-2020 season went and how the 2020-2021 season is shaping up to be, Suvimolstean said the team is confident about the spring season and success ahead.
