The men and women’s teams officially began their spring season Jan. 12 at 7 a.m.
They have practiced two times a day, doing fitness with Chris Cooper, baseball associate head coach, in the mornings and practicing tennis in the afternoons.
“It’s hard to wake up early, and the practice is difficult, but I like it,” said freshman Bernardo Fernandes. “I wasn’t used to doing that back in Brazil.”
On the women’s team, there are seven girls with only one freshman, Marina Ferreira, an undeclared major from Brazil. On the men’s team, there are 10 players, but only six players can be on the lineup and seven players overall can travel. Thus, in order to decide who will play the major tournaments, the head coach Michael McGrath has organized an in-home tournament where all the players from Augusta State University have to play against each other.
Both freshmen Bernardo Fernandes and Rafael Milhati are from Brazil and arrived at Augusta State this semester. Fernandes, an undeclared major, said he was practicing tennis before he came to Augusta. Milhati, a business management major, said he was practicing tennis and taking English lessons before he decided to study in an American university.
“I’m excited to play the tournaments and to travel with the team,” Milhati said.
Milhati and Fernandes admit that being on a team where the majority of players is from Brazil has been really helpful until now.
“On the one hand, it’s good because (my teammates) help me a lot,” Fernandes said, “but on the other hand, it’s terrible because I don’t practice my English at all.”
Even though Milhati and Fernandes said they are thrilled to be at Augusta State, they both say they miss their family and friends.
Before they even began their first tournament, the men’s tennis team was ranked No. 21 in the nation.
“I think we’re going to do pretty well,” said Felipe Ramos, a junior business management major. “Our main goal is (to be qualified) to nationals, but first we have to go to regionals.