With a weekend full of rain thanks to Hurricane Joaquin, the App State men’s tennis team was forced to cancel most of their Alumni Weekend events. Head coach Bob Lake had an entire weekend planned for the alumni and the team, but because of the rain, they just met for a dinner at The Rock Sports Bar & Grill on Friday.
“We were going to have dinner at the chancellor’s box, but with the weather, that’s not happening,” Lake said. “Whoever came up, we’re just having dinner here and seeing what happens.”
The Alumni Weekend was supposed to start off Friday with a game of golf and dinner. Then, on Saturday, the alumni were supposed to play tennis against the current team members and have a cookout. They also all planned to have a tailgate and go to the homecoming football game together.
“On Saturday, we usually have the older guys play the younger guys,” senior Oliver Casey said. “It’s sort of half-serious, half-fun, but it’s just about catching up and talking about the upcoming season. It’s usually really positive. You wouldn’t want to miss it.”
There were originally around 70 people, both past and current players, signed up to participate in the weekend, but many of them did not come because of the weather. There were still around 20 people at the dinner, which allowed for the current team members to catch up with the people who graduated before them.
“It’s great seeing everyone and getting together,” former tennis team member Tyler Pyle said. “Everyone is really close on the team so seeing the older guys get back is always a good time.”
This would have been the first Alumni Weekend for freshman Alex Brea and sophomore Scott Webster, who were looking forward to experiencing the event for the first time.
“I was looking forward to my first [Alumni Weekend] because there was a bit of hype around it,” Webster said. “I’m sorry it got canceled, but then again, we got a weekend off, which is nice as well.”
Even though the event was canceled due to weather, the tennis team made the best out of their weekend by having a team dinner and Lake vowed to make the event bigger and better next year.
The team will head to Charleston, South Carolina, on Friday for the College of Charleston Invitational.
Story by: Monica Crawford, Intern Sports Reporter