Tennis prepped and ready for 2022 season

WEST POINT, Ga. (Feb. 10, 2022) – The Point University tennis teams return to action this weekend, as the women's team opens their season on Friday, Feb. 11, and the men's team starts their season on Saturday, Feb. 12.

The Skyhawks are set to go under first-year head coach Brett Bridel. Bridel says that he has enjoyed working with his players and sees a lot of potential within each team.

"My goals for this program are ones that we have complete control over," Bridel says. "I want us to have unbreakable relationships. The coach-player relationship is extremely significant and the relationships between all the players in the program have got to be very strong. Second is self-awareness- know yourself, your strengths, strategies, and motives. The athletes who know themselves know how to consistently bring their best on-demand. As a team, we need to help each other build the skill of self-awareness. The third is accountability- culture of accountability, taking ownership, and making sure you do your job 100% of the time. Fourth is leadership- successful teams have great leaders within. We want leaders within the program. Lastly, to achieve excellence in the classroom and graduate."           

This season, stepping up in leadership roles for the Skyhawks will be JoAnna Gallman and Sofia Villalobos on the women's side and Gavin Thomas and Trey Maust on the men's side. Bridel says their leadership will help develop other leaders and contribute to the overall team investment.

The men's and women's teams have a combined 23 matches this spring, with the men competing in 15 and the women competing in 18. The women will start their season by hosting the University of West Georgia on Friday and the men begin by hosting Pikeville on Saturday. The men will compete in eight Appalachian Athletic Conference matches and the women will compete in nine. Nine matches for the women will be at Point's home court at the Sportsplex in Valley, Alabama, and six matches for the men will be in Valley. Both teams' final match of the season will be against AAC foe SCAD Atlanta on Tuesday, April 5. The AAC tournament will be held April 14-16 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In the NAIA Men's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, Point's men's team checked in at No. 19. Five teams from the AAC earned spots in the top-15, with Tennessee Wesleyan earning a No. 3 ranking, Reinhardt at No.5, Union at No. 9, and Montreat at No. 17. Last season, Point defeated Montreat 4-3 after Maust earned the match victory with the score tied 3-3. In the preseason conference rating, the Skyhawks are predicted to finish fifth.

On the women's side, Point is predicted to finish ninth. Five teams in the AAC for the women earned spots in the NAIA Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll, with Union leading the way at No. 5, followed by Montreat (No. 10), Reinhardt (No. 15), SCAD Atlanta (No. 23) and Brenau (No. 25).

Bridel says the mindset he wants his team to have this season is the desire to improve every day.

"There are no shortcuts in this sport," Bridel said. "You must work hard every day on your fitness, the level in which you compete, improving your skill level, increasing your mental toughness and staying focused on the task at hand along with taking care of your body by getting the proper sleep and nutrition daily. In an individual sport like tennis, it is a must that you absolutely love the battle."