Tennis enjoys ‘underdog’ role on way to 7-3 start

By: Pete Pelegrin, Contributing Writer
The FIU tennis team entered this season as an unknown, but that will not last much longer if the Golden Panthers’ success continues. It is that underdog role that has helped FIU achieve a 7-3 record through the season’s first 10 matches.

“We’re all fighters who don’t give up. We’re pumped up until the last point,” Anneliese Rose, the team’s top singles player, said. “There’s a positive energy to this team.”

After going 22-4 last year, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Regionals and jumping out to a 7-3 start this year, the 31st ranked team should no longer be hearing “F-I-who?” when playing at the national level.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we would be 7-3 after the first 10 matches, I’d [have been] pretty happy,” head coach Ronni Bernstein said. “We’ve had a few good wins versus some quality teams. We just have to keep it going and keep plugging away.”

Part of this confidence comes from a Feb. 3 victory over Sun Belt Conference rival South Alabama. The Jaguars eliminated FIU from the conference tournament each of the past three years, but the Golden Panthers picked up a 4-3 win earlier this month.

“We usually lose to them, but this time it’s a conference win that will definitely help us in the conference tournament,” Christina Campana, Rose’s partner on the 18th ranked doubles team, said.

Like the win over South Alabama, a loss had a similar effect on FIU. The Golden Panthers dropped a contest against the No. 3 ranked University of Florida on Feb. 8. FIU went on to win four of its next six matches.

“If we would have beaten Florida, I probably would have retired,” Bernstein said jokingly. “But losing to the number three team in the nation doesn’t hurt that much, because of strength of schedule.”

FIU has secured wins over ranked teams such as Mississippi State, Southern Methodist and South Alabama. The team points to its underdog role as a positive.

“Being the underdog keeps us very loose. We are more focused and have more initiative to win,” Rose said. “Coach Bernstein has played a very big role the past two years in getting us from round one to being on the map. We’ve beaten so many schools that never thought we would beat them.”

Campana agrees.

“We don’t care if we’re the underdog or the unknown,” Campana said. “We show them on the court. We feel good with no pressure and play more relaxed. We’ve got nothing to lose and a lot to win.”

FIU’s roster features players from eight different nations. The United States, Trinidad, Ecuador, Colombia, Hungary, Egypt, Australia and Chile are all represented.

“Having different players from different parts of the country and different parts of the world definitely contributes to team unity,” Rose said.

“Everyone on the team is hard working.”

“We all get along great, care for each other and work hard,” Mei Ly said. “It’s like a little family.”

The tennis team hopes that this family atmosphere, combined with its persistence pays off in May at the NCAA’s.