University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Tennis Enjoyed Exciting Fall, Winter Both On and Off the Courts
1/14/2019 3:33:00 PM | Men's Tennis
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- It takes a village to raise a team, and this year's Southern Miss men's tennis team is looking back on its successful fall season, both on and off the courts, as it prepares for an exciting spring campaign.
While the squad earned several wins over the likes of Auburn, Mississippi State and Tulane, among others across its tournament slate, the team also competed alongside Southern Miss ROTC cadets at Camp Shelby with various team-building exercises that provided mental and physical tests.
"That made us work as a team. There were so many stations, and for example one person was the leader of that station. It makes everyone feel close and listen to everyone. Sometimes you might be wrong and someone else was right. It made us all work together," senior Jorman Reyes said.
The team will begin practice on Saturday, Jan. 19, with the team playing its first three matches the following weekend in Hattiesburg. Reyes, a captain on the team, said it will be a hard journey with plenty of travel and tough opposition this year.
"It's a challenge, and that's why this fall we've practiced a lot about what we've got to improve," he said. "It's great to be with family over break of course, but we have to keep working and come back and beat these teams. I trust the team and I know they will do well this season."
That's where Chung-Han Tsai, a sophomore who earned All-Conference USA second-team honors in doubles last year, discussed the significance of the team-building activities in its entertainment and productivity purposes.
"We've done some things for fun, but this was the first thing that was fun but also helpful," he said. "We've done laser tag and fun things, but this was helpful for the team. We got to know each other and show our coaches who can be leaders of our team. Jorman is a senior and has more ideas about the team and how he will work, but now coaches can know every player even more."
Tsai says he felt a special relationship this fall with his new doubles partner, Tom Cecchetto, who had come to Hattiesburg a semester after him.
"As a freshman last year, I feel like everything I did last season, someone was telling me what to do and where to go," he said. "As a sophomore, I feel like with my partner Tom, who was a freshman, I needed to guide him. I guess that's why we did well in doubles this fall. Maybe it was because it was my second year and I needed to step up for the team."
Cecchetto and Teeradon Tortrakul, nicknamed "Tiki," stayed in America for winter break and made trips to Chicago and New York. Reyes said everyone keeps in touch through Snapchat. Tsai also said that while he would be back home in Taiwan, he would stay in shape by practicing with different pro players in the area.
Engineer, who enters his sixth season at the helm, leads the Golden Eagles into battle Jan. 25 at home against Florida A&M as part of a three-game tournament.
Players Mentioned
