What is a Chapman tennis game like?
Photo by Emily Paris, Photo Editor
At times the loudest noise you’ll hear during a Chapman tennis match is the Metrolink train passing by as it pulls into the Orange station. However, there is more than meets the eye or the ear at the Erin J. Anderson Tennis Center.
On Wednesday, March 12, in the middle of a rain soaked week, women’s tennis held a match against Vassar College. With gloomy clouds cloaking the afternoon, players for both school’s warmed up in good spirits. Laughter and chitchat turned into chants and encouragement, and soon the sun peeked its head out to get in on the fun.
Collegiate tennis starts out with three doubles matches, and the school that wins the majority of those gets one point to their total score. Because of that quirk, the most compelling contest ended early as Vassar already won two matches.
Chapman’s top doubles team, senior creative producing major Alexis Golin and senior integrated education studies major Lucy Erickson, faced off against Vassar’s Erin McCusker and Sofie Shen. The Panthers fought back through early struggles, and tied the match 2-2 after a tough back and forth which ended with a brilliant shot from Erickson.
As the weather continued to shift, so did the momentum. With it tied at 5-5, the referee called the game before a winner could be determined. Players on both sides had momentary confusion before shaking hands and moving on.
Maybe on another day, with clear skies, the match could have reached an epic conclusion. As interim head coach Matt Mead put it, though, you have to keep a “goldfish mentality” in college tennis. Forget what just happened and move on.
That rang true for Golin, as she was back in action just a few minutes later in a singles match against McCusker on the same court. The Panther player had her opponent on the ropes early, hitting high arching shots that created uncomfortable moments for the Vassar athlete as the ball bounced close to the back fence.
In college tennis, for games like this, there is only one ref: this means the players call their own outs. Usually it doesn’t cause much controversy. The athletes trust each others’ honesty, but this match was different.
Imagine watching Novak Djokovic. He makes it a spectacle: cursing at himself, throwing his racket and arguing profusely with refs. One of tennis’ greatest competitors, the Serbian can turn a supposedly sophisticated event into a cauldron of wild energy.
You don’t find many emulating him at a college tennis match. But it happens.
Golin and McCusker had been competing hard all afternoon. Nothing had separated them so far, in both doubles and singles. So when Golin made a couple of tight out of bounds calls on McCusker’s shots, things reached a boiling point.
McCusker shouted out “no way” before slamming her racket up against the tarp covering the fence, while another Vassar teammate said it was an “insane call.” Golin, staying calm, closed out the game to take a 2-1 lead in the set.
As the athletes took a timeout, McCusker forcefully hit the ball across the court, smacked another one with her racket up against the fence and also thumped the tarp again. None of this fazed Golin, however. She didn’t show any visible response to the display, but rather came back out onto the court looking locked in. She spun her racket rapidly in her hands, and got ready to return the next serve.
The goldfish mentality worked well for McCusker. She became more level-headed and was able to deal with more of the difficult shots being sent her way, but the game did feel more intense after that moment. The grunting and emotions normally associated with tennis showed their faces.
Golin ultimately lost the match in two sets, as did her doubles teammate Erickson. But they were competing side by side all day.
Mead, a former Chapman player himself, said one of his favorite things about college tennis is that you get to be a part of a team. Players like Djokovic, Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz don’t get that feeling. Sure, they may play doubles from time to time. But they don’t experience playing singles on side-by-side courts with their friends, both battling to get a point for the team.
Chapman lost 4-3 overall to Vassar, but Mead wasn’t concerned about that. Throughout the day he was joking around with his players, keeping a light and positive attitude. That is the energy Chapman tennis exudes.
