USTA Section: Florida
Roster:
Natalie Boruk - Freshman
Stephanie Cruz - Freshman
Adam Decker - Junior
Carol Marie Fraley - Sophomore
Stephen Ireland - Freshman
Jodi Kleiner - Senior
Abby Lindsley - Junior
Mike Malinsky - Senior
Philipp Ritcher - Senior
Joey Rudy - Freshman
Keving Runda - Senior
Teams Defeated: Miami, Central Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson
USTA.com: When did you discover that you had the talent to win as a team?
We always believed that we could do it. We have a talented group of freshmen and upperclassmen this year.
USTA.com: How does your team unwind after a day of matches?
The team typically goes out to dinner that night. From there we may go see a movie, play games at the hotel or go see some sights.
USTA.com: How would you describe your team personality overall?
Our team this year is probably closer than usual -- win or lose, we are going to have a lot of fun in Arizona!
USTA.com: How does your team fundraise? Do you serve your local community in a meaningful way?
As a team we do a variety of fundraisers throughout the year, including letter drives, car washes, tournament hosting and program sales. We regularly serve our community by participating in local blood drives, 5K runs and events promoting environmental awareness.
USTA.com: If you were to list three specific things that need to happen in order to win a National Championship, they would be:
- Believe that we can, in fact, win a national championship.
- Keep level heads and not get ahead of ourselves.
- Never give up! We have to play each point like it matters.
USTA.com: Share with us a funny story about your team or team member(s).
Traveling for us can often be an adventure. On the way to Orlando for a match, one of our drivers missed several exits consecutively and ended up paying four extra tolls. That same person’s car battery ran out on the way to another tournament.
USTA.com Share with us an uplifting story about your team or team member(s).
We played Cal Poly in the first round of last year’s National Championship Gold Bracket. Down by six games going into mixed, we won the set, 6-2. Now down by two games, we won the next two games at deuce. The adrenaline, even for our team members on the sidelines, had never been so high. We lost that match by one sudden death point.
It’s still hard to describe the way we felt that day -- with such high expectations that year, the loss hurt. After playing the first few tournaments this year, that loss was what pulled us all together and gave us the incentive to play our best in order to get a second chance.
And now, we are ready to play our hearts out at the 2013 Tennis On Campus National Championship!