Lafayette tennis concluded its fall season last week with a dominant performance at the Bloomsburg University Invitational. Sophomore Will Woolley and senior Nash Lovallo placed first in their respective tournaments, while four other Leopards finished with winning records.
“Looking at the competition, I was very confident that I was going to come out as the winner of the bracket,” Lovallo said.
In the weekend-long tournament, the Leopards competed against St. Bonaventure, Slippery Rock, St. Francis, Clarion, Bloomsburg, and Frostburg State University. The experience was valuable for the younger players before they enter Patriot League play next fall.
“We’ve had very heavy commitment from the freshman this year. All of them are at practice every day, and it just seems like every single one of them would die for this team,” Lovallo said.
The team has been aided by the development of experienced players like sophomore Arman Ganchi, as well as the addition of five freshmen.
“I think this new team, with the plethora of freshmen that we have, feels like a whole new team and I really think we can do some damage in the Patriot League this year,” junior Davis Esslinger said.
With such a young team, leadership is crucial. Senior captain Josh Wolfe is filling the role. He has gained the respect of the team, allowing them to have fun and bond with each other.
“Josh Wolfe is just a fighter, he’s a natural-born killer at the end of the day. You know for everyone who comes to practice, he has been a great leader,” Esslinger said.
Team chemistry is vital for the group both on and off the court.
“We’ve developed a ton of inside jokes and cheers that only we know, which really helps us get motivated,” Esslinger said.
“It really feels like practices are more vocal … You don’t just come to practice and hit balls, we’re yelling, and getting into it. At the end of the day, we’re pushing each other and trying to get better every day,” Lovallo added.
Now that the season has come to a close, the team will transition into an offseason practice schedule so they can stay in shape going into next spring.
“We’ve created an environment even in practice mode where it feels like we are in competition, which is really useful. At the end of the day that’s what we need,” Esslinger said.
With a successful ending to the fall campaign, there is renewed hope for Lafayette tennis fans that this will be the year where they make some genuine noise in the Patriot League for the first time since the pandemic began.
