The Ocean County College tennis team

The Ocean County College tennis team looks to make a name for themselves this season with a new coach and several new players.

After having a tough season last year, the Ocean County College tennis team is hoping to redeem themselves with some new faces this year. Everyone seems to have high hopes coming into this tennis season, especially the new coach, Alec Williamson. With new additions of experienced players, I think our team has the total potential to go further than we have in the past, Williamson said.

I feel excited to get moving as a group in the preseason, working hard on performance and teamwork dynamics that we can take to the courts for our first match and beyond.

If the tennis team ends up as one of the top two teams in the conference, they will qualify for the national tournament. The national tournament is played at the end of the season and is held in the state of Georgia.

According to Williamson, this is one of the biggest goals the tennis team is looking to achieve. However he also thinks this is a more achievable goal than it might sound. He has full confidence in the players coming out for the team this year.

The coach isn’t the only one with high expectations going into the season though. Freshmen Jack Schneider is among the pool of new players looking to make an impact. I don’t know how the team was last year, but I know some of the teammates that I will be playing with, so I feel that we will be pretty good, Schneider said when asked how he thought the team would be this season.

Schneider is an 18 year old who played tennis for four years at Donovan Catholic High School. Schneider played mainly first doubles in high school, making it to states two times and placing fourth in the Ocean County Tennis Tournament two times. While I do feel confident about my playing ability, I believe that I’ll be challenged on a new level, so I am nervous as well, Schneider said.

A big factor that will really change the team this season is the addition Alec Williamson. Williamson is a former player at Ocean County College and hopes to bring his past experiences to help the team as best he can. He is currently a coach at the Toms River Country Club as well which has allowed him to already form bonds with some of the players that will be trying out for the team. Schneider is a player who continues to play on the offseason and trains at the Toms River Country Club from time to time. I know the coach personally, and I am confident that he will lead us to greatness, Schneider said.

Both Schneider and Williamson think the team will be successful this season. As long as the team is lead the way that I envision it being led, I don’t think we will have any problem making it to nationals Williamson said.

With the majority of the team being new players, the team’s thought process seems to be that they will utilize all the new players coming in and try to build a strong team. No one seems more excited for this coming season than the coach however. With high expectations, the new coach is planning to have a good first year as coach of the Ocean County College tennis team.

While I am very excited to start this tennis season with the team and I think will do well, I would always love to get even more people to come out for the team, it can never hurt, Williamson said. I keep talking to new people who are interested every now and then and that really gets me amped up for what’s to come.