The Collegian
Friday, March 29, 2024

Men's tennis set to face Princeton tomorrow

A.J. Nelson, '11
A.J. Nelson, '11

The unranked University of Richmond men's tennis team will play Princeton University at the Country Club of Virginia in Richmond at 5 p.m. on Jan. 30.

This is a team that will be gunning for a spot in the NCAA tournament, coach Billy Boykin said. Princeton's preseason ranking is 69 in Division I men's tennis.

"We'll play it square," Boykin said. "We'll be practicing till the day of competition."

After losing two seniors to early graduation, the team is currently made up of one senior, Sami Belakhlef, one junior, William Minter, two sophomores and five freshmen.

"We have a very young team, and we have some guys who are playing their first collegiate matches," Boykin said.

The two seniors who graduated early, Michael Sommer and David Berry, definitely set a great tone for the team this fall, Boykin said.

"They're good guys and their presence is sorely missed," he said. "They were terrific leaders. I'd even call them irreplaceable."

Boykin admired the team's work during the fall and said he looked forward to watching the team develop.

"I expect good things from this group," he said.

Belakhlef said the team's newest members would be important to its success.

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"The freshmen are all great," he said. "They're all equally skilled, it's just a matter of mental toughness."

Having a team with players at the same skill level is a great asset to maintaining the team's competitiveness, Belakhlef said.

"If one guy gets hurt, big deal," he said. "We can throw another guy in, no problem."

During a collegiate tennis match, three doubles matches are followed by a 15-minute break and then six singles matches. The team that wins two out of three doubles matches receives one point, and the winner of each singles match receives one point. The team with the most points at the end of the matches wins.

Younger players are excited to get experience by playing a tough schedule this season, Boykin said. The players who do not play one of the six singles or three doubles matches will play "rubber matches" or exhibition matches.

"They're just as hungry as the guys playing one and two," Belakhlef said.

Although the team's official season began this spring, the team played hard this fall in tournaments and really got to know Boykin, who is enjoying his first year as Richmond's coach.

"Getting to know the new coach was pretty cool," Belakhlef said. "We adjusted to his style of practice and to his philosophy on everything and we all liked him."

Boykin coached at Davidson College and the College of Charleston before coming to Richmond.

"I've worked with great coaches and gained invaluable experience," Boykin said. "I've gleaned a lot from different coaches over the years."

Boykin wanted to establish a system for the team that they could derive value from, he said.

"I want our team to get better and better," he said.

Although the team's record is currently 0-4, they put up tough fights against the teams they have played so far. Last year, George Washington University and Longwood University both defeated Richmond 7-0, and this year Richmond garnered several points against these teams by playing long, close matches despite losing the overall matches.

"[During the Georgetown match,] I was down 5-2 in the first set and came back and won the set 7-6, but I went on to lose the match," Belakhlef said. "You've got to put up a fight for every match.

"We're not gonna win 'em all for sure, but I mean regardless of if you're up 5-love or 40-love or if you're about to lose the match, you still have to fight. All the players are going to put up a fight either way."

Contact reporter Ryan Clark at ryan.clark@richmond.edu

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