Club Tennis team competes in State Championship

The Catamount tennis club competed in the State Championship in Greensboro, N.C., Nov. 19 and 20. In total, 15 teams were in attendance, including two from Western Carolina University.

Last year, the tennis club almost doubled so Western Carolina split the team in half, creating two teams and more play for each member. For each match up, teams played a Women’s and Men’s singles, a Women’s and Men’s doubles and a mixed doubles.

For freshman Bertsie Cantu the State Championship was the first she had played in since coming to Western Carolina.

“It was a lot of fun, especially getting to play with other schools that we normally wouldn’t get to play,” said Cantu.

Team A, was in a pool with UNC Greensboro, UNC Chapel Hill and Elon University and lost all of the games. They fell to UNC Greensboor 13-30, UNC Chapel Hill 8-30, and Elon 15-30.

The second team, team B, was in a pool with UNC Wilmington, Duke University and High Point University. They fell to UNC Wilmington 6-30, Duke University 2-30 and High Point University 8-30.

In the semi-finals, Western Carolina’s A and B team played each other, guaranteeing their first win of the competition. Team B fell to team A 14-30, where team A was able to advance to play High Point University.

The Catamounts fell to High Point University 13-30.

Current team president, Nick Carlson, will be leaving Western Carolina after this semester to complete an internship, meaning that he will no longer be able to compete.

“It hasn’t set in yet, but it’s sad because I’ll miss the competitions and the team,” said Carlson. “I’ve had a fun experience over the past three years.”