Club Tennis may certainly be one of the newest additions to the Club Sports Department, but the team has definitely made their mark already on the club sports world by finishing 4th out of 32 teams in their second attendance of the USTA World Team Tennis Fall Invitational Event at Hilton Head, South Carolina. By beating Clemson University B Team 30-8 and #52 Ohio State University 26-15, the team was placed in the Gold Bracket to play #46 North Carolina State. The CSM team won four out of five sets, winning 24-15. Then the team beat Clemson University A Team in the quarterfinals in a 20-19 victory. In the semifinals, the team fell to the University of Virginia Cavaliers. The team ended up also losing to University of Central Florida (ranked third in the nation) in the consolation match. CSM was one of only two Division II universities in attendance, with the CSM men giving up only eight games in seven sets of singles play, a feat unlikely met by any other school in attendance.
The three teams that comprise Club Tennis total to more than 30 members, with nearly half of the members being women. The competitive team, the “A Team”, plays local, regional, and national varsity and club teams. The 2011-2012 team was comprised of nine men and seven women. The second competitive team, the “B Team”, plays local and regional club teams and had ten men and eight women on the 2011-2012 team. The recreational team plays only on the Intramural team ladder and contains fifteen men and four women.
When the varsity tennis program at Mines in 2004-2005 was disbanded, the club team was formed to compete in the NIRSA/NCCS club level for both men and women. Competition is year-round at both men and women, consisting of tournaments such as the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Fall Invitational, USTA Spring Invitational, USTA Intermountain Sectionals, & USTA Tennis on Campus (TOC) Nationals. Currently, the club team practices a minimum of three times per week with conditioning and indoor practicing during the winter. The tennis team at CSM has existed in some form or another since at least 1913. From the early 1970’s until 2005, the CSM men competed at the varsity level, winning four RMAC championships. Since 1972, the CSM women have fielded a club team off and on. The Club Tennis team officially became a club sport in 2010.
Club Tennis is a no-cut program, promising to include any who wish to play at least semi-competitively. Members’ skill levels range from former high school junior varsity athletes to former NCAA varsity players and nationally ranked juniors. Club Tennis is always looking for new players. Any student wanting to play can contact the team at club-tennis@mines.edu with questions.
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