By Jake Henning
COVID-19 has struck just about every sport and club at FGCU, but some are still determined to keep up their seasons. Tennis is among those making the best out of a bad situation.
The tennis club plays four days a week and has continued to grow their number of players, even with precautions against COVID-19.
They usually practice on the courts at FGCU and at the moment, they are standing firm at 48 members and are still welcoming more. Even with the constraints of COVID-19, the club is continuing playing the sport they love.
“Tennis is a sport where typically there is a large distance kept between players to begin with,” says Tennis Club President Connor Molina. “We are one of the fortunate sports to where our attendance has stayed the same if not grown after Covid-19.”
After their club season was cancelled, they’ve decided to keep competitive games within the club and build relationships between their members. They are still hoping to open up season play as they did last year, traveling to such universities as UF, UNF, FSU, UCF, UM, USF, FAU, UT, and Nova Southeastern.
Luckily in tennis, there is a safe amount of distance between any two players on the court. It is one of very few sports that can play safely without concerns.
“People are keeping a safe distance and enjoying tennis just as they always have,” says Molina. “In between playing we wear masks and try to keep a safe distance when taking a break/ getting water.”
Since the club has started, the club has grown in numbers for their practices and even in the amount of people they take to travel to other universities. Molina was very excited about the growth of their program and the steps they’ve taken to welcome more members to the club.
“We’ve grown and continued to improve our way every single day since I began,” Molina said.