Roster:
James Cramer – Sophomore
Patricia Chau – Junior
Jacob Cooper – Junior
Nathan Jacobson – Senior
Lawrence Rand – Junior
Geoffrey Tan – Grad Student
Lauren Frazier – Grad Student
Angel Deng – Sophomore
Hannah Stahl – Senior
Tatiana Cherne - Junior
Teams defeated this season: UPenn, Northeastern, Georgetown, William & Mary, North Carolina State, North Carolina Chapel Hill, Columbia, Cincinnati, Tennessee Chattanooga, Rutgers, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Sienna, Clarkson, Stony Brook.
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?
I first heard about Tennis On Campus in high school when my coach was telling me that club tennis would be a viable alternative to playing varsity somewhere if I wanted to go to a very good academic school and play club tennis. I decided to take part when I chose to go to Cornell, but I decided to become a leader after seeing the fantastic job our previous captains, Nate Jacobson and Hannah Stahl, did with the team. I wanted to keep up their tradition of hard work and a fantastic team. I very much enjoy TOC and being a captain, it has given me a group of people I am very close with and a chance to pursue the game I love.
Q: How did you enjoy your National Championships experience last year?
I was not on our Nationals roster last year, but I enjoyed hearing about all of the matches as Nate would send emails out to the entire team after every match, telling us how everything went.
Q: What does it mean to be back? Was it a more difficult road to return to Nationals?
It is fantastic to be back and have another chance to play for a National Championship. We had about the same road to Nationals as last year, playing the same teams and having to beat a tough Columbia team to win our section.
Q: In what ways has your team improved this year?
We have quite a few new freshmen on the team [who] have brought a new energy to the team. It just seems like we have a closer team this year, players spending more time on and off the court together, and that has really shown up in doubles where we have a great chemistry playing together.
Q: What do you tell new players about Nationals, or players that are traveling for the first time to compete for your school?
For players traveling for the first time to compete for Cornell, I tell them to enjoy the experience. It can be difficult to keep nerves under control sometimes, but the best way to do so is by having fun on court and enjoying it. The tennis comes naturally, everyone plays fantastic.
Q: Who was your toughest opponent at past Nationals and how did they challenge you to become better?
Our toughest opponent at Nationals last year was Georgia, the only team to beat us. The match just showed us how close we are to really competing for a National Championship (we lost by two games to the team that finished fifth). So it has just given us a benchmark and something to strive for.
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?
We have had a Facebook and Twitter page for many years and just this past year added an Instagram page. I personally like Facebook because it gives us a chance to post photos and actual articles or messages. We always have fun on all of our pages, but I think we are somewhat different from other teams in that we have a Cornell Club Tennis Facebook page where we post bios of players and funny stories, anything we think followers of our team might find worth reading.
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 have two seniors (our two previous captains) plus two grad students on our Nationals roster, plus a couple of more seniors and grad students back home. I have never heard them talk about “Sets in the City,” but I know they are interested in joining a USTA league after graduating.
Share with us some of the ways you help out in the local and global communities in the name of tennis.
We volunteer with ACEing Autism, giving autistic children a chance to be active and have social interaction through the game of tennis. We also host a tennis carnival where many children from the Ithaca community come out and get to play tennis with members of our team. Our team always enjoys both of these opportunities, and the children seem to as well.
Share with us a funny story about the 2015 team or team member(s).
When we went to the Fall Invitational in Hilton Head this past year, one of our freshman thought she could use her Cornell ID at airport security, rather than her driver’s license that she left at Cornell. Fortunately the TSA people were nice enough to let her through security, though it certainly did not come without a thorough pat down and search of her luggage.
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?
They would have to include the fact that we try to take everyone we can to travel to tournaments. We added a third tournament this semester to try to make sure everyone who wanted to travel to a tournament could. Unlike some schools who have one team that travels to every tournament, we have 25-30 students who travel each semester. Even though it is hard for us to find tournaments to play in upstate New York, we make an effort to get everyone involved in tournaments as much as possible.
