by Trevor Jones, Founder, and Captain – Salve Regina University Court Tennis Team
Recently, the Salve Regina University Court Tennis Team was privileged to have its first-ever match in team and university history. With many thanks to Mike Gooding, we were able to schedule a match with the members of the National Tennis Club at the International Tennis Hall of Fame. So, on the morning of, we feasted on breakfast together in the clubhouse and suited up in our whites to take the court for our first match in programme history. After many cold, early Wednesday morning and late Friday and weekend night practices over the course of the semester, we were all very much impressed with how much our game has improved; vastly exceeding expectations — and allotted handicaps — we came out firing to take the first match in Ladies’ Singles when freshman Lauren Harvey (Edmond, OK) took on Beth Winthrop. Lauren dropped to a three game deficit early on but managed to fight her way back in a tight pro set that went the distance, eventually pulling it out 10-8. Then, two sophomores Jack Barter (Greenwich, CT) and Shawn Conroy (New London, CT) took the court for mixed doubles against Beth and Dan Robillard Sr. Similarly, the Salve squad started with an early Love-3 deficit, but came back in a scintillating match which see-sawed back and forth, eventually winning 10-8. The second Mixed Doubles match kept the momentum moving for Salve when fellow sophomore Will Chasse (Smithfield, RI) teamed up with Lauren to take on members Tim O’Shea and Jay Ankenbrock. Never falling behind in that match, though, Salved soared to a 10-3 win. Men’s Doubles (1) went on next and also played far above our expected skill level. I paired with senior DJ Bisaillon (Watertown, CT) to take on Dan Robillard Jr. and his partner Jay Ankenbrock. Points were tighter than the score reflects here, with both teams serving viciously, but Salve stayed dominant with a 10-3 win, which included a tremendous winning gallery shot by DJ. Men’s Singles was equally devastating as I took on Dan Jr. in a 10-3 win for me; however, the score did not reflect the course of the match as nearly every game went to 40-all and a majority of points went over five balls, forcing both of us to come up with top-notch shots. The day ended with Men’s Doubles (2), consisting of DJ and Will partnering to take on Dan Sr. and Tim. Salve had to stage off a late-match comeback from the NTC but managed to pull it out 10-7 which give Salve Regina the clean 6-0 sweep on the day. Our many weekly lessons and practices have clearly paid off as our level was far above what we were expecting and we were putting into play all of the skills and strategies we’ve been building on. Thoroughly satisfied with our play, we finished off the afternoon sharing sandwiches with the members, talking about the many great points that had just unfolded.
We have an exciting future in front of us. Our goal as a team is to grow to 8-10 members for the 2019-2020 school year which would increase our weekly practices and court time. We also very much plan to have a match with Georgian Court University (Lakewood, NJ), the only other collegiate team in the US, which would be the first-ever intercollegiate match in US history. Collectively, we will be coming back strong in the fall. We will lose one senior, D.J. Bisaillon (also captain of the Varsity Men’s Tennis team at Salve), who graduates with a degree in Business Marketing and hopes to move to New York City where he would join our one alumnus, Kevin Brocks, who lives in Manhattan and works in finance for Evercore ISI. Returning will be our lady on the squad, Lauren Harvey (who also plays first singles and doubles for the Varsity Women’s Tennis team), and three current sophomores: Will Chasse (who also plays Varsity Men’s Tennis), Jack Barter (who plays for the Men’s Rugby team), and Shawn Conroy. I, too, will be returning for my final year, captaining both the Varsity Men’s Tennis Team as well as the Court Tennis Team. I’ll be working as an apprentice under Mike and Nick Howell at the National Tennis Club over the summer, helping out around the club and learning the ins-and-outs of the game. Lauren will also be on the grounds of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, teaching lawn tennis on the storied Newport grass courts.
Firstly, we would like to thank the United States Court Tennis Preservation Foundation for their continued support in many areas. It is through their efforts that we can exist in any form and that the game of real tennis can grow and prosper at an unprecedented rate. Secondly, we want to thank the National Tennis Club and its members for being so gracious, both as hosts and opponents. Their support, when we often see them around the club and practice against them, has greatly helped us improve — they are true sportsmen in every sense. The National Tennis Club and the International Tennis Hall of Fame, as well, have worked with us every step of the way and graciously hosted us in their unparalleled and historic facilities which have helped us grow as a team. Nextly, we would like to thank the United States Court Tennis Association for their recognition, as well as Salve Regina University for their support. Finally, it would not be a proper thank you without a message to Mike; his leadership as our coach on and off the court has been invaluable, we could not do it without him.
Yours in tennis,
Trevor Jones, Founder, and Captain – Salve Regina University Court Tennis Team
Dan Robillard Sr, Beth Winthrop, Jack Barter & Shawn Conroy
Jay Ankenbrock, Tim O’Shea, Lauren Harvey & Will Chasse
Jay & Dan Robillard, Trevor Jones & DJ Bisaillon
