Over the weekend of Sept. 20, the Hofstra University men’s tennis team hosted Queens College, Drexel University and St. John’s University at the Hofstra Invitational. The Pride went 17-11 between singles and doubles.
“I’m honestly buzzing and couldn’t be happier with the way we performed,” said Josh Reynolds, senior team captain. “In college tennis, the energy is so important…we just went out there and did our job and we got some great wins.”
In singles, it was a weekend of comebacks for the Pride. They started 1-6 against a strong St. John’s team on Friday but built up to a 11-8 total at the end of the weekend. Four of the seven matches against St. John’s went to a super tiebreak with freshman Eñaut Garcia-Beitia being the only one to come out with a win.
Hofstra had another slow start against Queens College on Saturday with all three of the top singles courts (Reynolds, sophomore Maxim Michaels and senior Kaita Odani) dropping their first sets in tiebreakers. All three of them stormed back in their second sets, dominating in the super tiebreak to make the final team score 6-0 against Queens College. The slow starts and roaring finishes continued on Sunday, with Matthew Garcia and Odani being the only ones to win their first sets. Still, the team finished 4-2 thanks to super tiebreak comeback wins from Noa Forste-Dinell and Reynolds, completing a major upset against Drexel.
“[Against Queens College] I was really struggling physically off the back of competing last weekend and a long day on Friday, so I really had to find a way to use my legs as best as I could…I just rode off the support of my teammates after they finished. They really helped me come back from 5-3 down in the second [set] and then it was just about playing smart,” Reynolds said.
“[Against Drexel]…I felt much more fresh and really, I felt confident today,” Reynolds said. “Coming on the court, I knew what I had to do, and I just stuck to my gameplan, and even though at times things didn’t always go my way, they ended up going my way in the end. I played an awesome tiebreak in front of the whole team in the end and ultimately that’s what college tennis is all about: playing in front of and for your teammates.”
The Hofstra men’s tennis team displayed utter dominance in doubles on Friday and Sunday, going 6-3 with all three losses coming from their matches against St. John’s. The squad displayed fantastic team chemistry throughout the weekend, nearly every doubles pairing excelling, especially the Reynolds and Forste-Dinell duo. The senior-freshman pairing went 2-0 with dominant wins against both Drexel and Queens College.
“In the fall, there’s time to swap around pairs to see what works and what doesn’t work,” said Reynolds. “With Noa [Forste-Dinell] being a freshman and me being a senior, it’s quite a contrast in terms of energy, but just introducing him to how college doubles should be played and how much energy you have to bring has been the key, to be honest. [Forste-Dinell] is a great player, super dynamic, and (has) a big serve. It’s great when your partner sets you up for easy volleys at the net…I just tried to do the same for him. It really worked well, but…I really feel comfortable playing with anyone. Each and every one of my teammates has brought their game and I am so proud of them.”
The Pride will travel to Bronx, NY for the Fordham University Invitational. The event will be from Friday, Sept. 27 to Sunday, Sept. 29.
Photo courtesy of Holden Willemsen
