The Washington men’s tennis team will go up against UC Davis Friday at 5 p.m. and Wisconsin Sunday at 10 a.m.
As the team prepares for two tough opponents on the court, the players are also dealing with having to prepare for midterms and classwork as the quarter progresses. This can be a difficult balancing act for any student and is no different for student-athletes.
“It’s very tough, but the UW has some of the best academic advisors, and our student-athlete academic center is a good resource for us to get tutoring,” sophomore Amit Batta said. “As a sophomore, I’ve adapted to the grind and lifestyle of a student-athlete. It’s tough, but it’s well worth it when you can see the results on and off the court.”
As for life on the court, the Huskies will be put to the test this weekend. They will be looking to carry over momentum after winning both matches this past weekend over Pepperdine and Princeton.
“It’s important to use the two matches, back-to-back, to try to pick up some momentum and get on a roll,” Batta said. “I feel like, as a team, we’re really coming together.”
One major area of success has come at the beginning of matches. Washington has won the doubles point in four of its five matches to start its season.
“It’s super important to win the doubles point,” Batta said. “I feel like when we win the doubles point, it pumps us up and gives us that early cushion that is always good to have.”
One potential challenge for Washington is the 10 a.m. start time on Sunday against the Badgers. It will be the earliest start of the season for Washington, but head coach Matt Anger does not expect it to be much different than the later start times.
“I’m pretty confident our guys will be up and ready to go on Sunday,” Anger said. “To help with that, I want to make sure they don’t sleep in too late on Saturday. After the match Friday night, I’m going to say, ‘Try to get to bed early, so you can get up early, so it won’t be such a shock to the system on Sunday.’”
Reach reporter Kyle Gehler at sports@dailyuw.com. Twitter: @KyleGehler
