Pratt, Kan. – The Pratt Community College (PCC) tennis program has begun their spring season last Saturday, February 19th against Tabor College (TC). Pratt defeated the Bluejays 9-0 at the Pratt Tennis Complex. This past Wednesday, February 23rd the team traveled to Newman University and lost 6-1.
The Beavers started their season ranked #12 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) poll that was released on February 3rd. We had an opportunity to sit down with Head Coach Jeret Johnson and talk about his team, being ranked, and the season thus far.
What does being ranked #12 after restarting the program mean to you and the guys?
It’s incredible… we set the tone early with preaching culture. This is just the beginning. I love this because the hard work the guys are putting in is paying off. This is a good first step for what’s to come in this program.
You have two doubles teams that have been ranked since December 2nd. Tell us more about these two teams?
Our number one doubles team (ranked 19th) includes David Arrieta and Dante Despontin. They actually came together late in the fall season after exploring pairings early in the season. After a little while those two really hit if off and when they are on the court together they are pretty fiery. It is pretty tough for our opponents to face them as they have lots of energy. They didn’t have a lot of time to train together, but I have high hopes for them to continue their success.
The other doubles team (ranked 25th) consists of Maxime Guyon and Vitor Goncalves. When you look at those guys on the court you have a 6’1 skinny French kid and then you have a 5’0 kid from Brazil. They definitely do not look like the most intimidating duo until you start playing them. Many teams do not know what just hit them and it is really cool to see them mesh and be successful.
You opened your season last weekend against Tabor College with a 9-0 sweep…what was it like to open your season at home with a win?
It was the first time having a home match in 15-20 years and while the conditions were not ideal it was a great day. It was in the 30s and the balls felt like rocks and our rackets felt like boards. Our nerves were really high, but the guys were so excited to play in front of a home crowd and on our home courts. It was a pretty special day especially getting a win. The guys really deserved it to as they worked hard. After the match, one of the questions they asked was when is our next home match.
The team traveled to Newman University this past week and lost… what adversity did your team show throughout the day?
We have a group of freshmen who it is technically their second duel of the spring season and their third duel of the entire year. This is all new to the guys and we had a lot of nerves traveling to an indoor facility. Newman is a good team, but everyone saw how beatable they were. We have a lot of raw talent that is going to show once we get some more experience under our belt.
Every team is currently ranked in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC)… what are your expectations as you start conference play later on this season?
The Jayhawk conference as of right now has the number two, three, and seven team in the country. Sitting here at number 12 itis going to be a tall order to go and beat some of these teams. Very doable if we really believe in ourselves we could have a good shot at it. The more we play the more confidence we have the better shots we get. It all leads to better results… it’s a process. We definitely want to go and beat these teams, but really as of right now we are looking to get better and build on our success. By the time our first conference opponent hopefully we will go and show them what we are made of.
The Beavers return to action next Tuesday, March 1st as they will travel to Friends University for a match at 10:00 am and then head to Salina, KS for a match with Kansas Wesleyan University at 3:30 pm. The team returns home on Saturday, March 12th with a match against Southwestern College at 11:00 am.