Men's Tennis Opens Spring Season Today
1/28/2011 4:49:00 PM | Men's Tennis
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Men's Tennis team kicks off Georgia Southern's spring sports schedule today at 2:30 p.m. on the Hanner Tennis Courts. The Eagles will face Fort Valley State in the first match of the spring season.
First-year Head Coach Nick Zieziula is excited to start the spring season at home where Georgia Southern won five of their eight matches last season. The Eagles went 5-5 at home a year ago and won three of their last four matches at the Hanner Tennis Courts.
"We have had a great training through the fall and also during the first two weeks of preseason workouts. You could see yesterday how eager the guys were to get into competition with another team," said Zieziula.
Fort Valley State finished last season with a 9-9 match record and was second in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC). The Wildcats reached the Division II NCAA South Regional but fell to Rollins in the first round. They have made four such appearances under Head Coach Willie Foster.
"Hanner is a good place for us to kick off the season. We hope to have a good crowd out and some support to help start the season on a positive note," stated Zieziula.
Georgia Southern is coming off a successful fall tournament schedule, but coach Zieziula is focused on the upcoming team dual matches in the spring.
"I am looking forward to seeing the guys compete together in that team environment," stated Zieziula. The fall is about individual tournaments. You are playing separately and are spread out on different courts across the facility. It will be nice to have all the guys together in a row and get the team energy flowing and hear the guys cheer for each other."
The Eagles are coming off an 8-13 season in which they finished 3-6 in Southern Conference play. Alain Garrido (Vigo, Spain) and Juan Manuel Melian Puigventos (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain) each won over 10 matches last season and combined for 25 singles victories. Melian Puigventos was named to the SoCon All-Freshman Team after leading the team with a 14-6 singles record. Coach Zieziula is also excited about Garrido, who is one of six upperclassmen on this year's squad.
"There was a lot for me to learn with each individual player in the fall. We really worked on trying to get into Alain's game style. When he is attacking with his forehand he is going to be tough for anybody to beat. I think we have done a good job on working on some specific drills for him in order to get him prepared for the spring."
Fans can follow Georgia Southern Men's Tennis at GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/mtennis, on facebook and at twitter.com/GSAthletics.
