Danica Schettler
Junior Mostafa Elbasnaly bounces on his toes during a singles match on Sept. 6.
Hornet men’s tennis matched up against Seward Community College and Bethel College to start the season off at the annual George Milton Chicken Dinner Invitational on Sept. 6 at the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.
The Hornet men went undefeated in singles and 26-1 in overall play. Freshman Luke West dropped only two singles games and a total of five between singles and doubles matches.
On his own matches at the invitational, sophomore Roko Kacer says he got better with each match as he found his rhythm. Kacer went 2-0 in singles and came out on top with junior Mostafa Elbasnaly in both doubles matches.
“I played two doubles and two singles matches, and since these were our first matches of the year, I started off a bit slower while finding my rhythm. But with each match, I felt more confident and comfortable on the court,” Kacer said. “I stuck to my game and the plan, and that helped me settle in and get some solid wins. I’m happy with the results overall, but I know there’s still room to improve, and I’m looking forward to building on this performance.”
Kacer and Elbasnaly anticipate future success for the Hornets as the season commences.
“Since it’s our fall season, we’ve got a big tournament coming up in two weeks—regionals—and we’re all excited to show what we’ve been working on and how much we’ve improved since last year,” said Kacer.
“Hopefully we can earn some national rankings after that tournament,” he added.
Elbasnaly, who says he appreciates the competitiveness of college tennis, also says the Hornet men have the potential to go far.
“My goals are really to add as much value to the team, results wise, and win the conference regular season and championship and advance and go far in nationals. I feel we are capable and we have all the potential and resources to do so.”
Sharing what he does in preparation for his own matches, Elbasnaly says it’s important to mentally prepare, especially for matches at home.
“I usually have a prematch routine of praying and listening to music. I also like to motivate myself and do some mental exercises like meditation. It’s so important to prepare mentally as tennis is a mentally tricky game and each point requires a very high level of concentration and focus,” he said.
“Looking ahead to the spring season, the goal stays the same: win the conference and make a strong run at NCAA nationals,” Kacer told The Bulletin. “We’ve got a great team this year, and if we stay focused and keep pushing each other, we like our chances.”
The Hornet men will take to the courts again on Sept. 26 at the ITA Fall Regional in Topeka.
Editor’s Note: The printed version of this story incorrectly stated the date of the Chicken Dinner Invitational.