Fresh off a 2010 HBCU National Championship win, the Rattlers men’s tennis squad landed in Winter Park Thursday focused on furthering that success
The Rollins C.L. Varner Memorial Invitational will take place on Friday and head coach Carl Goodman said that the team will try to build off the all-around team effort his players showed in Atlanta.
“Well I think the HBCU tournament was a good success for our team,” said Goodman after practice last Friday. “It was the opportunity where the whole team actually came together to play against some pretty good competition this past weekend.”
Goodman said he was especially impressed with the play of walk-ons Fabrice Myrtil and Marc Atkinson. Another facet of the team that is beginning to develop is the chemistry between two of the younger players sophomore Takura Happy and freshman Chidi Gabriel.
“When you look at our team for the most part, Takura and Chidi are actually the smallest guys on our team,” Goodman said. “We have a lot of guys on our team six feet and taller, but really just look at their heart and their hands and skills, they make a good team together.”
The C.L. Varner Memorial Invitational will feature some top-tier Division I and Division II teams including the University of Central Florida, Jacksonville University, and Florida Tech.
Goodman emphasized it is his team’s goal to be ranked nationally. He said improvement and another strong performance are necessary.
The tournament will conclude Sunday.