The fall 2009 season tested the will and maturity of the Florida A&M University men’s tennis team.
T Egoavil said. he team came up with the right answers and did what was necessary to put together a string of good results.
At the 9th annual HBCU National Tennis Championship team captain Michael Moore won the A Flight draw against fellow teammate David Jackson. They both teamed up to win the Flight A doubles draw as well.
First-year player, Takura Happy, won the C flight singles. Rashaad “Harold” Williams, another first-year player, teamed with Takura to reach the semi-finals in doubles.
With these performances, FAMU’s men accumulated the most points, allowing them to win the team competition. Bethune-Cookman University and Xavier University placed second and third, respectively.
This was the team’s third consecutive HBCU Championship.
At the Thomasville Collegiate Invitational in Thomasville, Ga., David Jackson and Michael Moore reached the semi-finals of the doubles draw beating a team from Florida State University, currently ranked 13th in the country and players from the University of South Florida, currently ranked 37th in the nation.
The Florida A&M men’s tennis team had another impressive tournament at the 2009 UNF Hampton Inn 9A & Baymeadows Fall Tennis Invitational. Four Rattlers took the trip to Jacksonville and represented well among a slew of very competitive teams.
David Jackson fought hard making it to the semi-finals after beating UNF’s No. 1 player and winning what onlookers described as the best match of the tournament.
Takura Happy, the last Rattler to strike, reached the finals of the B Flight and fell just short of the title in a tough three-set race to the finish.
Each Rattler made it to the quarterfinals of their respective draw in Jacksonville allowing FAMU to have the best overall team showing at this years Invitational.
Last year, the Rattlers lost in the semi-final round of the 2008-2009 Mid-Eastern Athletic Tennis Championship to the Hampton University Pirates.
The Pirates would eventually lose to the South Carolina State University Bulldogs in the final. These conference rivals are FAMU’s biggest competition heading into the spring MEAC season.
The spring season is approaching and team captain, Michael Moore, stressed the need to improve net-play and the need for balance in the team’s arsenal.
“Singles is our strong point but we need to work on doubles more in practice heading into the new year to become more well-rounded,” Moore said.
David Jackson, 22, has similar goals and expectations.
“I want us to work on being able to serve and volley more in matches and transition more from the baseline to the net during points,” Jackson said. “Tennis is an all-court sport and I feel like working on these skills would take our games to the next level, in singles and doubles.”
The team now looks to build and improve on this semester’s accomplishments in preparation for the MEAC Championship this April.