Oct. 17, 2007

The doubles teams have always been a strong point for the team, but in the past few matches, wins have been hard to come by. Why do you think that is?

In the beginning it's always a little bit hard to start. Also, this year the doubles teams are totally different from last year since Alex, Dan and Andrew graduated. We just have to adjust a few things during practice and we will be OK for next matches.

You have played mainly at first doubles and third singles so far this season. Is there more pressure for you personally at third singles, or at first doubles?

Not really. That's what I wanted. I mean, I wanted to move up in the team and playing at third singles and first doubles, it gives me more confidence out there.

How have you adjusted to your doubles partner, Jon, so far this year and what do you think you still can improve on?

We were playing pretty well at the beginning but we just kind of took a step back a little bit in the last matches. However, I really think we have the game to step it up again and build more confidence through the next matches. Also, if we are able to play good matches this coming weekend at Army, we will be ready for the Regionals.

Diego provided the team with its only point against Georgetown after he fought through a three-set match. What has he done to improve since he joined the team last year?

Diego is an important player for our team. He is so competitive out there, and it is always good to have such a player with his characteristics. He really improved his doubles game from last year.

The team lost three strong leaders last year with Dan, Alejandro and Andrew all graduating. How has Antonio and Steve stepped up as the team's lone seniors?

Well, unfortunately Steve (Steenland) quit the team this year. So, we have Antonio as the only senior. He helps us a lot out there in practices and matches. He tries to take the role of leader this year, and he does it well.

Alejandro has replaced Borko as the team's assistant coach this year. Now after playing for both, what has been the main difference and how has that affected the team?

Borko had a different point of view of tennis but he has been helpful these last two years in the team. However, Alejandro is always a reference for our team. He has been playing at first position these past two years, so he has built a lot of good tennis tactics and game plan through all his matches. Now that he takes the role of assistant coach, he also gives us confidence and some advices to keep improving our game.

What has the team learned about in the past matches this year that will help prepare them for the Army tournament?

First of all, I have to say that our freshmen are learning quickly and they are adjusting their game to the college tennis. The rest of us, we all know what it takes to win matches out there with such a good teams. We need motivation, confidence in our game and fight.

With the Army tournament being the last before a four-month break, what do you personally hope to achieve before the break?

Personally, I am trying to adjust few things on my game. I am also trying to change my way of playing matches out there and I hope I will have a good tournament this weekend.

The fall portion of your schedule is full of tournaments, but the spring portion is solely one-on-one with another team. What are the main differences between those two types of matches?

In my opinion, it is pretty hard to play like three matches in a day. This takes a lot of conditioning, not just physically but mentally. However, it has a positive part since you have the chance to improve your game in a short period of time. Also, during the fall we focus more to work on individual stuff, and during the spring it is more a team competition trying to put everything together.

The team fought its way to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 tournament. Is there any reason why it can't do it again?

There is no reason we can't do it again. I have a lot of confidence on this team for the next years, so I think we can do it even better than last year.