By Tyler Dunn
For everyone excited about the 2018 tennis season, we’re almost there! The Bulldogs stars will have been off for nearly four months when the action picks up again at Newman University on February 11th. After closing the first half of their season with a loss at Emporia State the Dogs were given a break but now they’re eager to jump back in and cause a racket in the conference.
Mentally they could use a break, the mid-season break serves a refresher for most of the athletes. For some of the team, that came in the form of traveling home to the countries that they came from. Every athlete can relate to the feeling of coming home. Home is a place of comfort, safety, a place that reminds you of who you are, but it also serves as a reminder of who you want to be. So coming back to the States, some of our tennis players have redefined their goals, they have redefined why this experience is so valuable. It was once said that “Home is where our stories begin, but not where it ends.” With our team we know their story is just beginning, and the only limits they have are the ones they give themselves.
While our team has a chapter titled “KCAC Tournament” the concern lies in how they’re getting there. They need to keep their team commitments, and show that they are dedicated to what they love doing even though it may cost their time and energy. Sacrificing days and nights in the weight room and the courts, because that’s what it takes to be Champions of the KCAC. For some, like Freshman Andi Huber, it takes overcoming the pressure of being on team that has a name known in the KCAC. It takes “Being confident and playing at a high level despite that pressure.” to further that Huber said “I have a knee problem but I would fight for every single ball for the team even though it’s going hurt.” That’s the mindset of a player from a team that is deep with commitment and a hunger to win. It is that hunger that makes the McPherson College tennis team a team that this community can stand behind, and with that support a KCAC Championship is destined to come.
