After a tough year last year in which the club did not qualify for Nationals, the James Madison Dukes Club Tennis Team, looks to make it back onto the National stage.
The Dukes feature as the second team previewed by VAVEL, with the UMBC Retrievers being the first team which was previewed. VAVEL talked with one of the clubs' co-presidents, Kristian Kc, about his club's chances at one of the coveted bids for Nationals this year.
Club Officers:
President: Kristian Kc & Jackie Dillon
Vice President: Alex Slappey
Treasurer: Melissa Cote
Secretary: Ellie White
Community Service Chair: Daniel Paunovic
Social Chair: Alan Burgess
Key Returners and Departures
Returners
Brittany Burke: Women’s singles
Kristian Kc: Men’s singles, Men's doubles
Jackie Dillon: Women's doubles, mixed doubles
Galen McNaughton: Men’s doubles
Ellie White: Women’s doubles, mixed doubles
Alex Slappey: Men’s doubles, mixed doubles
Gemma Howard: Women's doubles, mixed doubles
Jalal Ahmed: Men’s singles, mixed doubles
Melissa Cote: Women's doubles
Departures
Jeff Smalls: Men's singles, Men's doubles
Cameron Bonser: Men's singles, Men’s doubles, mixed doubles
Last Year’s Results
Fall Invitational (Hilton Head): Loss in finals of the "FUN" bracket
Maryland Fall Invitational: Quarterfinals loss to Delaware A
Virginia Fall Invitational: Loss to UVA A
USTA Mid-Atlantic Sectionals Tournament: Gold Bracket/National Qualifier loss to University of Virginia
Duel in the District: Won Sportsmanship award
James Madison Invitational: Loss to UMBC in Finals
Expectations Headed Into Next Season
We had the pleasure to talk to Kristian Kc and here his thoughts on his team chances on a Nationals bid this year, "We believe this is prime time to go to Nationals. We didn't make it last year due to the heavy level of competition, but we're looking to come back and reclaim our spot. Unfortunately, graduation took our star player Jeff Smalls away from us, who we miss a lot, but I do believe we can bounce back with this years all star roster. Sectional tryouts are almost here and a lot of members and hoping to get their shot at representing JMU. But as of right now, next stop is Hilton Head!"