Men’s Tennis Team Overcomes Adversity During 2018 Season

The Liberty men’s 2018 tennis season was defined by navigating changes in leadership and learning to overcome adversity.

The team ended the season April 16, falling 3-4 to No. 5 seed Longwood University in the first round of the Big South Conference Championships. But, according to junior Eddie Gutierrez, the season was characterized by much more than how it ended. It was about the lessons the team learned at each point along the way.

The Flames underwent changes in the fall when Liberty hired a new head coach, Derek Schwandt, and assistant coach, Beck Pennington. Senior Diego Castano said the fall semester was a unique time of adjusting to the new coaching styles.

“I think it was a good transition and it was definitely better than my last three years,” Castano said. “It was something that the team needed, the program needed. It definitely was challenging at first but at the end we’re all in the same boat, going towards the same goal, so it was pretty smooth afterwards.”

Gutierrez said a new dynamic was born and a shift in atmosphere was created this season as a product of the coaching transition.

“Coach Schwandt is very focused on developing a winning culture and a culture that responds to adversity,” Gutierrez said. “No matter how badly you’re losing, no matter how high the mountains might seem, you’re going to look right at them and respond to that adversity. I think it really showed this past season that we are a team that has a lot of potential and a lot of talent.”

The team started off 4-0 in conference play record, winning against Radford, Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville and Longwood.

“A favorite moment I think I will always remember from this year would be the times that we won very serious matches,” Castano said. “Whether it was Vince (Salas) clinching against Gardner-Webb, or it was me clinching against Kennesaw State, I was super hyped.”

According to Gutierrez, it was the best start to a season the team has had in the history of the program, and things looked promising heading into the championships.

But then came the adversity that they had been preparing to face all season.

“Maybe everybody expected to go out into the championship and come back with a title and with the trophy in our hands and I guess things didn’t really go as planned,” Gutierrez said. “It stinks that we had such a great start and that we weren’t able to continue on with that streak. But, at the end we all talked about the experiences we had as a team throughout the season and we promised each other that next year the result is going to be different.”

Already looking forward to next season, coaches Schwandt and Pennington have the goal of building a top-25 nationally ranked program with the hopes that four incoming freshmen will help them get there.

“I think we really need to make sure that the new guys buy into the winning culture of the program,” Gutierrez said. “Besides working hard on the court, we all know we have the capacity to go out into the conference matches and start beating all these teams. The next step is to, yes, be reminded that we have the ability to do that, but then once we have tasted victory, don’t feel comfortable or be complacent about it.”

Castano will be leaving his team with the positive outlook that they will win a Big South Championship in the near future.

“I think ever since I’ve been here, one of my teams could have easily done it,” Castano said. “So, hopefully next year they will do it and within a couple years they will get at least one or two Big South Championships, and from then on, take it step by step. I know coach Derek has big goals for this team so I’m definitely confident that he will take it where he wants it to go.”