The prevailing sentiment from Seton Hill University’s (SHU) tennis teams is one of confidence. �We have enough talent and experience to win this year,� said Jason Pugh, junior.
The coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, Tim Creamer, echoed this statement, saying, �We expect to do very well.�
By Meredith Ponczak,
Staff Writer
The prevailing sentiment from Seton Hill University’s (SHU) tennis teams is one of confidence. �We have enough talent and experience to win this year,� said Jason Pugh, junior.
The coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, Tim Creamer, echoed this statement, saying, �We expect to do very well.�
The women’s tennis team is the defending conference champion. They have won the conference championship for the past two years. This year they are not the favorite to win, although they do boast some veteran players who �hopefully can lead the team,� said Creamer.
Three seniors graduated, and another girl transferred, so the team is rebuilding this season. Junior Julie Prokrifka said, �We are going to try our best.�
The women’s team has been recognized for its high academic achievement, as well as its athletic prowess. In 2005, the average GPA was a 3.71 on a 4.0 scale. The cooperation of SHU professors is essential to the balance between tennis and schoolwork. Fortunately, Creamer said, professors have been understanding about the team’s schedule and missing the occasional class for matches.
This year, the men’s team is poised to try to win. Junior Josh St. Cyr said, �The goal for the team is to go to the regional finals.� One of their biggest advantages is the fact that the same core players have remained with the team for the past three years. Their conditioning off-season will help too. Both teams have done heavy conditioning full of running, many sprints, and lifting weights.
They will have competition to get there, however. Walsh University and Cedarville University, both in Ohio, have presented the biggest challenges in the past. Jasmin Sadikovic, sophomore, said, �Some teams are not as strong this year as they were before, like Walsh and Cedarville.�
Both of those teams lost powerful players to graduation.
The teams� successes has been mediated by Creamer, who has coached the women’s program for four years and the men’s for all three years of its existence. The players notice his dedication to the teams. Prokrifka and Pugh said, �He cares about us.�
The men’s team is especially ready to reward Creamer for his dedication to them. �We want to win it for him,� said Pugh. �Everybody’s willing to do more than their part to help the team win.�
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