Three years ago, Stony Brook University was represented by five men who practiced together once as a team and traveled 10 hours to compete at their first USTA Eastern Tennis on Campus Championship.
This year, the University was represented by two teams of men and women, who attended practices and conditioning sessions each week, and many of whom spent time eating, studying and hanging out together. The result: Stony Brook earned its first trip ever to the USTA National Tennis on Campus Championship, April 7-9, in Cary, NC.
“It was really the tenacity, focus, and team bond of the players this year that made the team so strong,” said Leon Wong, captain of the team. Stony Brook will be joined by Cornell University’s team, which won the Eastern Championships for the second year in a row.
We asked Wong about why he joined Tennis on Campus, and how his team grew and improved in just three short years.
Why did you decide to get involved in Tennis on Campus?
I became involved with Tennis on Campus simply because it gave me an opportunity to spread the game of tennis to college students. When I first became a part of the Stony Brook University Tennis Club in my freshman year, I saw a huge potential for growth in the club and the club team. Ever since then I’ve been a part of the tennis club executive board. Together, we have been improving the club in aspects such as club trips, lessons for beginners and intermediates, socials, and indoor court time in the winter for the club team, and just recently, regular members. As for the club team, they’re involved because they have always had their sights set on winning the Tennis on Campus Eastern Section Championship. The tournament gets more challenging every year and it is a great way to test how far their training has brought them. They are not just complete tennis junkies though. They study very hard in school just so they can find time to train.
How do you feel about earning a trip to the Tennis on Campus National Championship?
When we found out that we had finally earned the trip to the National Championship, we were ecstatic. We were so excited because this was our first time ever reaching the finals of a Tennis on Campus tournament. We’ve always wanted to go to Nationals, but we couldn’t believe it when we had actually achieved this amazing opportunity.
Three years ago, your team had a hard time getting to the Section Championship, and only five men made it. This year, you’re headed to the National Championship. What led to the team’s amazing growth and improvement?
The team’s amazing growth and improvement really came from a few factors. The first reason is the expansion of the overall club. Having a larger club means that there will be more players that are interested in competing. As a result of this, we added six new players onto our line-up this year! With a rather new line-up and many fresh players, Mike Flaherty (President of the club) and I took advantage of being able to set the standards higher than previous years. We’ve implemented (and coached) twice a week practices focusing on lots of doubles and match simulations along with an additional conditioning session once a week. Furthermore, I’ve been able to set up some scrimmages with other colleges so our team could get some real match play in. We believe that what we’ve done was to just help guide the team (as the two of us have not played for the club team at all these last two semesters). It was really the tenacity, focus, and team bond of the players this year that made the team so strong. For instance, this is the first year that we’ve had such high attendance to practices and conditioning. Even off the court, many of us are spending time eating, studying, and even just hanging out together. We’re functioning a lot more like a team, and that’s really what made the difference.
How is your team preparing for the National Championship?
As of now, we are having a little trouble setting up more indoor practices due to a lack of club funding. Hopefully, things will work out and we’ll be able to squeeze a few more indoor sessions in before the National Championship. For now though, we will probably have to deal with outdoor courts. It’s a bit chilly out in Stony Brook, but I know that they won’t mind if it’s for the National Championship. I’ve also asked our college varsity tennis coach, Gary Glassman, to help work with our doubles strategy, and he said he was more than willing to assist us. That’s definitely going to be something to look forward to!