Illinois men’s tennis gets ready to kick off its spring season with matches against Toledo and Kentucky on Saturday at the Atkins Tennis Center in Urbana.
The Illini are led by head coach Brad Dancer and are made up of many talented players. Starting at the Fighting Illini Invite in January, the team also welcomed Zachary Viiala.
Viiala has a career-high ITF ranking of 154 as well as a career-high ATP ranking of 1397. He has won four singles and doubles titles, and his goal is “to play all the grand slams and to maximize my potential.”
The team has worked hard and looks to take on the season with determination and lots of excitement. Of course, the team has all the support behind them with love from the community and most importantly the coaching staff.
“There’s a lot of excitement,” Dancer said. “The players are looking forward to these moments.”
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Personally, Dancer is looking forward to seeing the growth in the players throughout the season. He believes that if they keep steadily improving, the season is set to be great.
“I think we look good,” Dancer said. “I think we’re hungry, I think we’re learning what our identity is going to be and we have to put that into place now.”
To prepare for the upcoming matches on Saturday, Dancer has stressed the importance of applying pressure in doubles matches; whereas for singles matches, he likes to focus on each individual player and work on their control in regards to concentration and head space.
“We’re doing a ton of fitness stuff as well,” Dancer said. “So they feel like the fitness is helping them succeed so when it comes time for game time, they’re ready to go.”
Dancer and the rest of the coaching staff make sure the players’ needs are all met and accounted for, helping them train their minds and bodies to ensure the best performance when they’re on the court.
“The coaches want to feel perfectly prepared all the time,” Dancer said. “I don’t think we ever feel that way, but that’s our job is to kind of make sure everyone is ready to go.”
Illinois men’s tennis is looking forward to a great season and is ready to dominate. The team’s home season opener kicks off on Saturday as the Illini aim to start on the right foot.
