The Lipscomb men’s tennis team has taken great strides in the past two years, but they aren’t looking to stay stagnant in the 2022 season.
After posting a 7-14 record in 2019, the Bisons went 18-8 in their past two seasons combined and reached the semifinal of the ASUN tournament last year.
In head coach Geoff Hernandez’ fifth season at the helm, Lipscomb will look to continue growing and perhaps even find their way to an ASUN Championship.
In 2019, the Bisons went 9-1 in an abbreviated season that saw wins over 31st-ranked Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Louisville, and Belmont before COVID-19 ended the Bisons’ chances at a conference title.
“When my brother [Mario] and I took over, it was kind of a growth period of just finding us, our style as coaches,” Hernandez said.
“Then we had a breakthrough, getting to the finals [in 2017] as the 6-seed, which gave us a little bit of hope. As I’ve taken over, getting some of our recruits and some transfers, you know, the depth of the team has just gone up.”
Last season, Lipscomb finished with a 9-7 record and a 4-2 ASUN mark while reaching the conference semifinals.
The lineup Lipscomb brings to the table this season is a worldwide one, with five countries and three states represented.
“You have to cast a wide net in tennis,” Hernandez said, “and there are certain elements of the players from Spain and South America that there was a real toughness and fight in them that I felt helped our breakthrough. Now, we’ve tried to pull from different places as well.”
“The maturity of the international students, the ability to come to a new country and figure it out–they’ve gone through a lot,” Hernandez said. “I think they’re very grateful for what the U.S. and Lipscomb has, so they really seem to enjoy it, and I love it.”
This roster will also be one marked by consistency, with spots 1-6 all up for grabs on any given matchday.
“My first couple of years [as a coach at Lipscomb], you kinda knew who was going to play. Now, I think, with the help of our strength coach and our athletic trainer, the bodies are in check and everybody’s healthy.”
“We’ve got nine guys who can really play and there’s only six spots, so it’s one of those things to where we’ve said it at the start of the year–there are going to be guys who aren’t happy that they’re not playing, and it changes throughout the year, I think.”
“I think it’s now a proving process, but I do feel we have the bodies and the people that can do well.”
One of the most crucial pieces to the operation this year will be junior Maksim Bogdanovic. The Houston native earned his second career ASUN Player of the Week honor after two wins in his opening weekend of the 2022 season.
“He came in and went 9-1 at the six position, but I think everybody knew he wasn’t going to stay down there very long. Last year he progressed to three, and this year, it’s really up to Maksim how good he wants to be.”
Another player the coaching staff is high on is fellow junior Alex Mesquida. Standing 6’1″ and hailing from Ciutadella de Menorca, Spain, Mesquida did not participate last season but has high expectations for 2022.
“Alex came to us from community college last year and had suffered from some injuries, and he went out in the fall and beat Tennessee Tech’s number one,” Hernandez said. “I think that kinda proved to him what he can do.”
“We’ve had high goals for him for a long time, and now he’s just getting that shot,” Hernandez said.
The competition between players should only make the players better as the season progresses.
“The nice thing is there’s pressure from the bottom,” Hernandez said. “They want to get in there, too, but I will say, there’s a really great team element. It’s not necessarily ‘dog eat dog’, but they’re brothers. They’re all competitive, so that’s what we want.”
The ASUN coaches’ poll has Lipscomb in seventh place, only finishing above North Alabama and Bellarmine.
“I don’t think the coaches’ poll was well received by the team, because they know what we’re capable of,” Hernandez said. “It is fair in some regard because our main players that were at the top for so long graduated.”
Lumination predicts Lipscomb to finish fourth in conference play and to reach their second-ever ASUN Conference Final. The Bisons are currently 3-3 in non-conference matchups.
They take two straight wins into their next matchup 9 a.m. Saturday in Greenville, South Carolina against the Furman Paladins, while conference play starts March 20 at home against North Alabama.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics