For the men’s and women’s tennis teams at NYU, success does not come easily. Long commutes, limited court availability and the endless distractions of New York City are just a few of the difficulties of tennis at NYU. Despite these challenges, both teams have put together strong spring seasons and are looking to carry the energy into the postseason.
NYU does not have on-campus courts, so the teams travel to the Bronx to practice. Practices typically go from 9 to 11 p.m., and finding consistent court time outside of practice hours is nearly impossible.
“I think NYU is probably the hardest place in the U.S. to play tennis,” Zachary Freier, senior and captain of the men’s team, said. “I normally get back to my place at around midnight after practice. It would be a lot easier at some of these UAA schools that have courts on campus they can access whenever — but we only have two hours a day.”
Despite these challenges, the Violets are playing at a high level this season. Both teams ended the regular season ranked in the top 30 nationally for Division III and have reason for optimism heading into the postseason.
“It’s been the best season I’ve been a part of,” Freier said. “When I came here my freshman year our record was two and 10, and right now we’re 10 and two — complete flip, complete culture change. It’s awesome to see the growth.”
With junior Boren Zheng leading the men’s team at No. 1 singles, the No. 27-ranked Violets have gone from a bottom-dwelling team in the UAA to a national contender. After the men’s team’s first-round win over Carnegie Mellon University, the players are expecting to make it to the NCAA Championships.
“I mean, I’m not gonna put any limits on us, but I think our goal coming into the season was to win our first round at conference and make the tournament for the first time in a long time,” Freier said. “That’s definitely a possibility.”
The women’s team, ranked No. 29 in the country, with senior Jimena Menendez, graduate student Isabella Hartman and first-year Victoria Wang leading the team in wins.The team is hoping for an NCAA Championship bid.
“It would be great if we could do well and then go into NCAAs,” Wang said. “That would be the main goal for our team.”
Though making the tournament is the goal, the team lost momentum after finishing in seventh at the UAA tournament. With the work they have been putting in, the players believe that they have what it takes to be a tournament team.
“We have the talent, we have the potential and we also have the discipline,” said Hartman. “The dynamic is so fantastic, and the culture has been like a family. I think we can go very deep in the tournament, but it’s mental. It’s all mental for our team.”
As the team closes out their seasons, they reflect on all of the hard work they put in.
“I think tennis is easy to overlook,“ Hartman said. “We’re in the Bronx, and when you have sports like basketball and volleyball doing so well, playing in Paulson, it’s easy to turn all attention there. We have so much potential, and if we have a little more support from the school, that would go miles.”
Contact Matthew Singh at [email protected].
