Freshman men’s tennis player, Andrew Watson, started his career at the University of Memphis with a bang, winning the Ohio Valley Regional singles championship in October. Thanks to the win, Watson will travel to New York to play in the ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships this week.
Watson, an England native, also earned the American Athletic Conference’s Player of the Month honor, the league announced on Tuesday.
Memphis coach Paul Goebel and Watson left for New York on Tuesday. Both are excited to how well the freshman can do this week.
“I’m so excited for Andrew,” Goebel said. “Seeing him play so well in that tournament, he did such a good job on focusing on one match at a time not thinking ahead.”
For Watson’s first match, he drew Oklahoma’s Dane Webb. The players will face off on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Two different players from the American qualified alongside Watson, USF’s Roberto Cid and Tulane’s Dominik Koepfer punched their tickets earlier in the fall season. In all 32 players will be competing in the randomly-drawn tournament.
Goebel said he loved the focus Watson displayed during his run through the Ohio Valley Regional, but the freshman said it is as simple as focusing on the next sequence.
“The goal is always to win the next point, but, as you get further through the tournament, you start to exceed expectations, and, when you get to the finals, you only have one goal left,” Watson said.
Last season, seniors David O’Hare and Joe Salisbury competed in the Indoor Championships after winning the regional doubles trophy. They were the first Tigers to make the prestigious tournament, but Watson will be the first singles player to represent the U of M.
“I’ve been told it’s quite a big deal, but I’m just trying to focus on Nationals right now,” Watson said. “It probably hasn’t hit me yet. It’s just another tournament, and I’m looking forward to the next ones.”
Goebel said Waston’s approach to the tournament has been spot on, and his appearance in the annual tournament is huge for the Memphis program.
“We’re really excited about seeing how Andrew can do,” the 11th-year coach said. “I don’t feel like he’s satisfied, and he still has something to prove. To show that he’s comfortable playing this level of competition is really exciting for our program.”
Heading into the fall slate, the men’s tennis squad found themselves in a state of flux. The Tigers lost six seniors from last year, and only two players from last year’s team remained.
The strong starts from Watson, Patrick Mayer, Ryan Peniston and Shakeei Manji have encouraged Goebel.
“They didn’t know what to expect going into this fall, but the results have been very pleasing,” Goebel said. “There’s still a lot of improvement and a lot of work to do, but we weren’t sure after losing a lot of guys last year what to expect. But after this fall, it’s really looking good.”
