FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The No. 16 Nova Southeastern tennis team (1-1) is set to begin Sunshine State Conference play, as the Sharks face the Tampa Spartans (1-0) Saturday and the No. 18 Florida Tech Panthers (0-1) on Sunday. Both matches are on the road and will begin at 10 a.m.
The Sharks enter the weekend 1-1 after dispatching St. Thomas, 6-3, on opening day and falling to NCAA Division I North Florida, 9-0.
“We certainly were taken to school over our initial weekend,” said head coach
Dr. Michael Coleman. “Hopefully we learned that we must try harder to stick to our game plan rather than deviating to only power. Unfortunately for us, we played a good D-I team that just came off a disappointment within 24 hour prior to our match.”
The Sharks did have trouble in their match against UNF, but the high competition is required when starting the meat of conference season just three matches in. If the Sharks were able to learn anything from opening weekend, they will need to implement it in a hurry. Fortunately, the Sharks are getting healthier and will soon be back to full strength.
“Injuries prevented us from evaluating our team’s ability during opening weekend,” said Coleman. “But hopefully in time we will have everyone healthy to establish our best combinations and standings.”
More than half of NSU’s roster is made up of freshmen who will experience SSC play for the first time. The league represents a large amount of the nation’s elite teams. Last year, the Sharks finished in the middle of the pack in the SSC, but were still recognized nationally as a top-20 squad.
“The Sunshine State Conference in women’s tennis occupies seven on the top-20 rankings in the country, as well as eight of the top-10 spots in the South,” stated Coleman. “I would therefore say that our conference has to be, overall, the strongest D-II conference in the country.”
Tampa and Florida Tech do not represent the league’s elite talent, but will still present a big challenge for the young Sharks team. When asked about the weekend’s level of competition, Coleman reiterated that the biggest challenge will be from within. The Sharks will focus on overcoming their own challenges in hopes of overall success on each day.
“If you would have ask this question about last weekend, I would note that our biggest adversary were the Sharks of NSU,” answered Coleman. “We must be patient and be willing to play tennis to evaluate our expectations. Tampa is usually a competitive team, which I understand has improved the strength of their lineup. Florida Tech is always a tough match for us, they are able to require our best play if we would like to succeed. Our first conference matches come early in the season, but I hope that the NSU Sharks are prepared for the challenge. If we could take our practice techniques into a competition, I would be more than willing to say this weekend will be fun. At this time, we will play our best to see what we have been able to learn in a short week.”
Check back with NSUSharks.com for updates throughout the Sharks’ road trip.
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