Tennis falls just short of A-10 Title
Nancy Gabaldon
Contributing Writer
The VCU men’s tennis team concluded its season at the Atlantic 10 Tournament with plans to take home the winning title, but unfortunately they were unable to clinch it.
The tournament took place April 14-17 at the Boar’s Head Inn in Charlottesville, Virginia, where the Rams took on last year’s rival, the George Washington University.
After a solid season, the team said they went into the semifinals ready to take on their opponents.
“As a team, we had big expectations. We were ready to play every match,” said senior and No. 1 seed Michal Voscek.
VCU came out strong, sweeping George Mason University out of the A-10 with a 4-0 win. Voscek led the team against Mason with a match score of 6-1, 6-0.
On the second day of the semifinals, the team led straight set victories against Dayton, winning 4-0. The Rams advanced to face GW in the championship match for the fourth straight year.
“We won against George Mason and Dayton. We won pretty easy before,” said freshman Brazil native Vitor Lima.
The Rams have reached the A-10’s championship match each of the last nine seasons, and has made an appearance in 20 of the last 21 years.
VCU did not go out quietly against the Colonials. Lima made a comeback with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 win. They rallied late, but ultimately loss against GW. Lima and freshmen Arvid Noren said they were happy with the season and know what to look for in the future years.
“It’s me and Vitor’s first time at the A-10. You can feel that there was a lot of tensions in the atmosphere and it was a great experience for us,” said Noren, a native of Sweden. “Hopefully, we get more of those in the future.”
Still, they say they owe a lot of their encouragement from Voscek, who has been helping them transition into the hectic schedules off and on the court.
“I think that Michal (Voscek) as a senior guided us really well,” Noren said. “We had a good season.”
Voscek is the only senior on the team and has led the team as the No. 1 seed since the end of the 2013-14 season.
“It was disappointing at the end. To end my career like this,” Voscek said. “It would be nice to finish off with a title, but things happen.”
Voscek, approaching his second year of graduate school, and said he hopes to continue helping his teammates succeed in the future.
“For me, as a senior, I went through different emotions,” Voscek said. “ First year when we came we lost three seniors as well, so from that standpoint it was a little weird for me to see.”
Voscek added that seeing people come in and play well makes him proud, but is also upsets him because he will not be able to hand down his experiences and offer as much support as before.
