Roster:
Tiffany Cheng – Junior
Spencer Fang – Senior
Lorenzo D’Angelo – Graduate Student
Neil Mediratta – Sophomore
Zoe Kasiurak – Junior
Masumi Thakkar – Sophomore
Benjamin Brito – Senior
Teams defeated this season: Hope College, DePaul University, University of Chicago, University of Illinois, Valparaiso, Michigan State University, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, Ferris State, Illinois Institute of Technology, Illinois State University, Loyola University, Northern Illinois University
Q: How did you first hear about the Tennis on Campus program? What made you decide to actively take part and also become a leader on your campus? How do you feel about TOC and being a captain?
One of my friends from high school was a member of UIC’s club tennis team. When I came to UIC, he convinced me to join the team. Being a competitive tennis player in high school, I was eager to get involved in a new tennis community.
Seeing as how the team was so friendly, welcoming and funny, it made me want to become an active part of this club. The chance to work more closely with each and every member is what motivated me to seek a higher position in this club. Honestly, the people of UIC Club Tennis are some of the best people I’ve met. Every practice, tournament and social gathering is beyond fun.
Being a captain of such a fun team has been one of my favorite college experiences. Being a member is very different from leading a club. Leading requires skills that I wasn’t expecting, and thus, in this past season, I have gained valuable skills and knowledge that I lacked before. In general, being a captain has been challenging, yet rewarding.
Q: Does your team actively use social media to stay connected? If so, what social media platforms are your favorites? Does your team use social media in any special way that you feel sets you apart from other teams?
Our team is not that active with social media, but we do use Facebook to communicate with each other and to share our team’s adventures with our friends.
Q: How did your team feel once you knew you qualified for Nationals?
Our team was ecstatic. We were jumping up and down, shouting, dancing, laughing, and calling each other when we found out. We cannot wait for Nationals! Woohoo!
Q: If a local newspaper was to write a story about your team what is the one thing you’d want to make sure they included?
I would highlight how our club has vastly improved this year. Our membership participation has about three times as many members this year, and our practices are much more organized as well. Most importantly, our club has become more like a family this year than ever before. We aren’t just people with the similar hobby of tennis, but genuinely close friends now.
Q: How does your team fundraise? Did you know you could teach tennis programs or work with local community tennis groups to help serve your local community in a meaningful way?
Our team has sold cookie dough in the past, and we have hosted fundraising dinners. I recently found out about some opportunities to reach out the local community and make a meaningful impact, so my team will definitely be looking into that in the future.
Q: What are some fun things that you and your teammates like to do as a group?
Our team enjoys getting together and eating. We have one teammate who is specifically good at cooking Italian food, so we try and have “Italian” dinners as often as we can. Aside from that, our team has also gone bowling together and we have even gone on a 7.5 mile run together.
Q: Do you have many seniors on your team? Do you think they know about opportunities after graduation like “Sets in the City” or young adult social leagues? Do you think anyone on your team would be interested in starting one?
We only have two seniors and a graduate student on our team. We are sad that they will not be joining us again next year. I don’t believe they know what “Sets in the City” is, but I know one of our seniors knows what young adult social leagues are. I think there are a few team members who may be interested in starting one.
If you were to list three specific things that need to happen in order to win a National Championship, they would be?
1. We need to play our best.
2. We need to “believe to achieve”
3. We need to show up to matches with a positive attitude.
Share with us a funny story about your team or team member(s).
Our team received the sportsmanship award at our team’s sectional. I received the trophy for the award in the mail about a week later. A few hours after I unwrapped the trophy, our treasurer picked up the trophy. Right when he picked it up, it broke in half. None of us have any clue how it happened. Somehow though, he broke it. Thus, our trophy was only perfectly intact for a couple hours, and it is now held together by superglue. We still laugh about this story to this day.
Share with us an uplifting story about your team or team member(s).
I don’t think there is one particular uplifting story from this season. The most uplifting thing from this season was our team motto: “Believe and we can achieve.”
