A college tennis roster is in the single digits, but without a full team of seven, issues can arise. Now, Head Coach Dann Nelson can finally start to build around a full roster.
In the fall season he had a small squad, not even enough to take part in team competition. Luckily, the fall season is known as the individual portion of the season. In the fall, four returners from the 2015-16 season did get in some valuable experience during the small sample size of matches.
“The fall is for them, individually, but the spring is for team,” Nelson said. “So, this is the meat of our schedule, this is the championship segment of what we do as a team.”
The coach was on the recruiting trail to fill his roster and is happy with the additions, who will be able to compete.
“We’re such a small team,” he said. “Now we have seven. The new guys have acclimated very well. We’re just a small family. We found new guys to add to our family.”
The three newcomers are Clément Sarradin, Mateo Schmit and Rodrigo Del Pozo.
“It’s a huge adjustment to come over at the semester, which means midyear,” Nelson said. “They’re in a different culture. It’s a big ask and, so far, they’re really adjusting to it well.”
Sarradin, a native of Clarensac, France, has made an early splash as part of the team. He was the team’s sole victor on a Jan. 21 trip to No. 14-ranked Oklahoma State University. He had a singles win over OSU’s Mathieu Scaliga, 0-6, 7-5, 1-0 (12-10).
The win was the first of his collegiate career, and a confidence boost to the newcomer to both college and American tennis.
“It was just my second match with the team,” Sarradin said. “We played against a very strong team. It was not just a victory me, I wanted to win a point for the team. It was important for me to start correct this season.”
Sarradin, a freshman, is part of a group of five underclassmen. They outnumber the upperclassmen. In fact, UTRGV has no seniors on the team this season, only two juniors. Elliot Johnstone and Koby Jansen are the elder statesmen on the tennis team, and still have two seasons remaining.
Jansen is in his third year with the program, so he’s no stranger to the routine.
“We’re playing tough teams right now, so we’re trying to prepare ourselves for conference when we get there. It’s just a progression and it’s good to get back on the road and traveling,” Jansen said.
Of his younger teammates, who are new to the process, the Australian native said: “It’s always hard when you first get here, especially for the guys that got here in January. It’s always hard to get in from another country, and then within a week, you’re playing consecutive matches in a weekend, and back-to-back days.”
UTRGV will try to build on the young team as the season progresses. Their packed schedule takes them across Texas nearly every weekend. In March, they will start to travel out of state, including trips to South Carolina and Georgia, all in preparation for the WAC season in Arizona, Washington and New Mexico.
They will be at home Wednesday when they host Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi at 2 p.m. in the Orville I. Cox Tennis Center.
