USTA Section: Texas
Roster:
Ryan Elwood - Freshman
Teiwoh Kandeh - Freshman
Jasmine Nguyen - Sophomore
Elissa Rizzi - Sophomore
Kristian Rodriguez - Sophomore
Brian Scott - Sophomore
Teams Defeated: Houston, Texas A&M, Texas-San Antonio, St. Thomas, North Texas, Stephen F. Austin
USTA.com: When did you discover that you had the talent to win as a team?
When we participated in the Texas Fall Regional in Austin and barely lost to the eventual state champion, we knew we had something good.
USTA.com: How does your team unwind after a day of matches?
Just relaxing. We may go out as a group to eat or hang out at one of our friend's houses.
USTA.com: When you qualified, how did you celebrate?
Screaming and yelling, partly because we were named Team of the Year for our community service activities as well.
USTA.com: Tell us a bit about how your school is unique?
We were named National Club of the Year in 2011 and honorable mention National Club of the Year twice. We are very dedicated to our community -- we're involved in 10-15 community service activities per year. Because often our community members are our students, it's important to give back whenever possible.
USTA.com: If you were to list three specific things that need to happen in order to win a National Championship, they would be:
- Play very well.
- Have confidence in our abilities.
- Believe that we, as a community college, can compete with all the four-year colleges and universities.
USTA.com: How do you exhibit school spirit?
We at Lonestar Cyfair have our own special cheer, and we are *very* loud! The team is also proud to wear school colors and clothing. That said, we also want to be respectful of other schools and we're always trying to network. For instance, we bonded very well with the University of Florida last year during Nationals.
USTA.com: Share with us a funny story about your team or team member(s).
Our team is constantly laughing at each other, but not in a demeaning way -- we sometimes just get silly for the sake of being silly. Our team name is the Fighting Ducks, so we like to make quacking sounds when we win big points. Many bust out laughing after hearing these unique sounds.
USTA.com Share with us an uplifting story about your team or team member(s).
The most uplifting story is embodied by the Special Olympians that competed on our team in the fall. We are determined as a team to incorporate them and they play along side the team during Tennis On Campus events and dual matches. We also host a Special Olympics clinic and unified tournament each year.