By Delaney Crawford
After the abrupt departure of the men and women’s tennis head coach on Jan. 1 and the loss of players, it didn’t seem as if the team would be able to compete in the spring at all this year.
An email blast sent from Athletic Director Susan Kolb on Feb. 2 helped to fix this problem.
In the email Kolb said, “The men’s and women’s tennis teams are currently in need of three additional players on each team to compete with a full roster this semester.”
The previous assistant coach, Jorge Rodriguez, has stepped up and is now the head coach for both teams. The email also mentions that Rodriguez can coach all skill levels, so beginners are welcome.
Thirteen players joined the team after the email went out to all undergraduate and graduate students at Hood. That number of new players gives the team enough to play each match and compete for the full season.
“I am trying to be very creative and efficient with the practices since I need to pay more attention to the players that are new to the sport,” Rodriguez said. “I am grateful that the players are understanding.”
Five members of the team graduated last spring, leaving only three players on the men’s side and two on the women’s.
“I’m excited to see how the team comes together throughout the year,” junior Jeff Fleming said. “We have a lot of new players coming out and it’s going to be exciting seeing how they progress as the season goes on.”
“My hopes for this season are to help new players grow into the sport and to help the more experienced players have a successful season,” Rodriguez said. “The ultimate goal is to keep growing the program so it can be more popular among current and potential students, and to have better results at the conference.”
If you are interested in joining the tennis team reach out to Kolb kolb@hood.edu at or Coach Rodriguez at rey@hood.edu.
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