Alabama tennis player Andrew Goodwin said the Crimson Tide always goes out to compete with energy, and the team seeks to continue its winning streak on the road in Southern California this weekend.
“No matter what the situation, we’re always pumped up,” Goodwin said. “Our energy is always very high, which is great to see.”
The Crimson Tide will make the trip to Malibu, Calif., to play in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend, an event governed by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association that will give Alabama the chance to move on to national indoor championships.
Sixty universities at 15 different sites around the country will compete in four-team tournaments as a part of the event. Alabama will face the University of California first, then will either play San Diego University or Pepperdine University. If the Crimson Tide wins both matches, it will move on to the USTA/ITA National Team Indoor Championship in Houston, Texas, in February.
Following last week’s sweep in a triple-header over UAB, Alabama A&M and Troy, in which the team won six of its seven doubles matches, the Crimson Tide is looking to use its momentum to play well this coming weekend.
Coach George Husack, who led the team to the NCAA Tournament during his first year in the position last season, said with the limited time the team has, starting the season strong was a positive way to begin getting ready for the spring.
“We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for this weekend, which is an important weekend, so I think we did as best as we could,” Husack said. “I wanted to make it as challenging as possible. So, having three matches in a day might have been perceived as a little bit crazy, but I thought it was good, and it worked out really well.”
After a strenuous fall season filled with training, the Crimson Tide has entered its challenging spring season – a dual-match season involving both singles and doubles play against teams across the nation.
The team received a 2014 ITA national preseason ranking of No. 33, and two of the members are ranked individually, with Daniil Proskura at No. 14 and Becker O’Shaughnesey at No. 51.
Nikko Madregallejo, a freshman on the team, said the athletes are working on their fundamentals to make sure that they can compete to their utmost this season.
“Honestly, I’ve just been trying to play my best tennis,” Madregallejo said. “We’ve just been brushing up on the little things. Staying in shape is probably the biggest thing for us right now.”
