Howard’s men’s tennis team hosted their first home match of the season at Banneker Recreation Center last week, where they defeated Harford Community College with an overall score of 6-1. This ended a three-match losing streak and improved their record to 3-6.
The Bison dominated on their home turf on March 14, sweeping the three doubles contests, a remarkable rebound from their previous three matches. The game attracted members of Howard’s student body to the tennis court that sits next to student housing.
The singles competition was spearheaded by the top team of senior Marcel Dawson and sophomore Michael Major Jr., the latter of whom defeated his opponent in three sets putting him in position to becoming the team’s top singles performer.
Playing on campus was meaningful to Major Jr., a human performance major.
“It feels good to win on our home court. We practice here everyday, and it’s good to see a lot of people come out. We had a lot of support and it’s great that we got it done at home,” he said.
Major Jr. described the Bison’s 6-1 victory as a “solidifying win” and believes that the win holds value going further into the conference.
Hannah Dessie, a sophomore on the women’s tennis team explained the importance of playing close to home, allowing the Howard community to come and support their team.
“When we get to play here it signifies that it’s getting warm outside and everyone’s back in their element. As I’m sitting here some of the freshmen are talking about how nice it is to have a sense of community,” she said.
The on-court play however, spoke the loudest to Dessie.
“They won doubles 3-0. They had a tough season so far, so for them to come out in the first match and sweep doubles like that, it just shows how much they’ve been working,” Dessie said.
She cited injuries as the driving force behind lineup changes, but reassured that their work from the preseason will pay off if they continue to work hard and remain healthy.
Major Jr. pointed to the team’s showing of maturity as the biggest reward of the game. He had to remain positive to ensure he won his match.
“Sometimes when we’re up, we can start to lose focus but I think everyone remained locked-in this match,” Major Jr. said. “In my doubles match, I went down early [in points] so I used the energy from my teammates and got it done.”
Though the team took a large win against Harford, Major Jr. believes there is still room for improvement, especially when playing in front of the home crowd.
“Even though we were pretty mature, I think sometimes when the crowd is there, you want to show off,” Major Jr. said. “Also, some decision-making in some matches such as going for too big of a shot at certain times.”
With no referees present in this game, players were also tasked with upholding honesty and integrity in their calls. Major Jr. noted that despite some players’ inclination to cheat, the matches remained fair.
The Bison will return to Banneker Recreation Center to face Wagner College on March 22.
Copy edited by Aniyah Genama
