Men’s Tennis Aiming High this Season
Following a strong individual fall season, the Choctaws are prepped and ready for spring.
After finishing #2 in the conference season last year and #17 nationally, the Mississippi College men’s tennis team is aiming high this season.
This year, the men have earned a preseason national ranking of 18th. Individually this fall, Blanchard was ranked seventh in the country. Blanchard and Rafeal Sabio were listed at 20th as a doubles pairing. Blanchard finished fifth at individual nationals this fall and second in conference.
Although the team did not receive a bid to regionals last season, Alex Blanchard was recognized with several accolades, including ITA Rookie of the Year, ITA All-American, and both GSC Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.
The team is coached by Coach Michael Ward. Ward is in his third season with the Choctaws. Brady McDaniel, a former member of the men’s team, is in his second season as assistant coach. McDaniel earned the ITA South Region Assistant Coach of the Year last season. Senior Alvaro Saint Martin and junior Blanchard co-captain the team.
The team recently graduated two former players: Joe Jarvis and Matías Ballatore. Harry Forsyth and Florian Walcher – two freshmen from Australia and Germany, respectively – took their places after Christmas. Gustavo Tedesco, another freshman from Brazil returning from the fall, will also be competing for the first time with the team. Blanchard said the new players are a good fit for the team.
“I think the new players are really good additions to the team,” Blanchard said. “They’re a great fit, and we have a good team environment. I think how close everyone is this spring will help us a lot in making the team special.”
Saint Martin agreed, emphasizing how excited he was to compete with them. “I’m ready to compete with these guys. We have a new group, three new guys I’m looking forward to competing with. Getting them acclimated has been great.”
Blanchard and the team are antsy to start. “It’s been a while, and we haven’t played any competition,” Blanchard said. “The last one was probably at the end of October, and I think everyone’s missing competition. I think we’re a competitive team – we play better in season than in practice, so I think everyone’s ready for the season to start once we get started. I think we’ll get better and better, and we have good objectives too for the end of the season.”
Saint Martin said the team has been working hard on and off the court, and they are ready to start working towards the postseason. “We want to win a championship,” he said. “That’s the whole goal. First, we have to go step by step building each day our conditioning, our tennis, and prepping for every match.”
Saint Martin says the team stands out because of their mind set and capabilities. “Our fight and our capacity to be in every match, to compete, I think that’s what makes us special,” he said.
The team's home opener is February 7th, 2025 against Jackson State.
 | A guest post by
|