Aggie men anxious to get back on court after tough loss to Nevada
If the Utah State men’s tennis team needed any additional motivation heading into its match against the University of Montana Wednesday at 1 p.m. at the Sports Academy, its previous match should do the trick.
That last match was an agonizing 4-3 defeat to the University of Nevada-Reno — a match in which all three singles matches the Aggies (4-10) lost went to three sets.
While having additional motivation is a plus, USU Head Coach Chris Wright said he feels his team is competitive enough to begin with, and getting up for a match should never be an issue.
“They’re a pretty competitive group that we have,” he said. “They don’t want to lose whether its intramural basketball or tennis or winning an argument in the van.”
Aggie sophomore Brandon Butler agreed and said at this point of the season desire and determination are magnified.
“I think it really just comes down to your desire, how much you want it and how much you’re willing to pay for it to win,” he said.
Desire and grit may very well be the determining factors come Wednesday as Utah State and Montana have similar results against like opponents. Both the Aggies and Grizzlies have lost to Montana State and Air Force by similar scores, and their wins over Gonzaga and Creighton were similar.
Although the Aggies have beaten the Grizzlies the past two years, Wright said he is expecting nothing less than a tightly contested match. After all, USU’s last home victory over Montana wasn’t decided until the final match.
Then again, Wright said he is confident his team will bounce back from its gutwrenching loss to the Wolf Pack.
“If we move well and our mindset is good, then we should bounce back,” he said.
One of the main reasons Wright said he feels the Aggies will bounce back is their depth and the parity between the players. While he is a little bit unfamiliar with this year’s version of the Grizzlies, he said they are generally stronger at the top.
This season’s statistics would suggest that. As of March 18, the two Montana players with by far the best records on the team were Jan Steenekamp (7-2) and Stanislav Nevoovich (6-3), Montana’s No. 1 and 2 singles players.
“Typically they’re a little bit stronger, there’s a bigger gap between their top players, [whereas] we’re pretty even I think,” Wright said.
Another advantage USU didn’t have at the beginning of the season is the services of Italy native Hannes Schenk. Schenk was cleared to play by the NCAA before USU’s March 8 match against Saint Mary’s, and will man the No. 1 singles spot for the fifth straight time.
When asked about the how Schenk has adjusted to match play, Wright said it has been smooth. That is as long as Schenk plays with mental toughness.
“I think he’s been a little frustrated at times,” Wright said. “He’s just got to keep his composure and just play the next point. Sometimes we’re all guilty of thinking back, ‘Well, I should have done this.'”
One thing is for sure, though. The Aggies welcome the chance of playing four of their final six regular season matches at home, Butler said.
“The main thing is we don’t have to make any adjustments as far as courts go and altitude goes, so we’re all plenty comfortable from the beginning,” he said.
Aggie note: The status of Jonah Nelson is still up in the air for Wednesday’s match, Wright said. However, he said Nelson, who sprained his ankle against BYU on Feb. 28, will probably play.
“We’ll be taking a good look at it tomorrow [Tuesday] and make a final decision,” he said. “I’d say there’s a good chance.”
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu