Can AASU tennis pull off an unprecedented feat?

Famous football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” That’s all the AASU tennis program has done in the past two seasons. Win.

The two-time defending NCAA national champions have the chance of being the first program to win three consecutive national championships with the men’s and women’s teams in the same years.

Their goals are as simple as the Hall of Famer, Lombardi’s statement.

The women’s team goal for the season, according to Gabriella Kovacs, “is to just win as much as possible.” Going into the spring competition the team wants nothing less than to go undefeated and win AASU’s sixth Division II women’s tennis championship.

On the men’s side, one of the team leaders, Mikk Irdoja, summed up the team’s goal rather bluntly. “We are aiming to win the title for the third time, there are no other goals,” the native Estonian said.

Neither of the teams are worried about the pressure and expectations to produce another national championship. They simply wish to give it their all and work as hard as possible.

With the women’s roster exactly same as last year they certainly look as though they should be in good shape to take another shot at the championship.

Both the players and coaches are confident in the women’s team. All of the players have the experience of winning a title and another year’s progression, so they have every reason to believe in their chances.

One of the issues that the coaches worry about this spring is that the players might become complacent because they have come to expect success.

The only other issue for the team is that the nation’s No. 1 player, Sona Novakova, will miss at least one week, possibly two, of competition at the beginning of the season head coach Simon Earnshaw said.

But Earnshaw doesn’t think it will affect the team too much because they are a strong group from top to bottom.

The men’s program is in an entirely different situation. This year’s team has four players from last year’s championship team and is bringing in four new players.

They also have no doubles teams that competed last year, which their coach pointed out had been the backbone to their success in the past.

But, with the leadership from players like Irdoja, Rafael Array and Eudaldo Bonet both on and off the court the group should develop a good sense of team chemistry.

Some may think that with back-to-back championships under their belt, not capturing a third would be a disappointment. However, the coaching staff remains very realistic about the upcoming season.

“If we do everything we can to win, but still end up losing this season won’t be a disappointment,” Earnshaw said.

He knows that there are occasions where giving it your all may not be enough on any given day. But so long as the teams put in the effort and hard work that they need to in order to win then that is all anyone can really ask of them.

Another issue the teams face is totally out of their hands. With the AASU aging tennis courts in a state of disrepair, all of the Pirate home games will be played at Bacon Park.

The men start their schedule on Feb. 5 against Florida Southern College at Bacon Park. The women’s team starts their season the next day at Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, Ga.

Some of the marquee matchups this season include a home match against Lynn University on March 5, a match against Barry University on March 13, and to finish the regular season on April 9-10 the teams play the University of West Florida and Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga.