Hilton Head Island Beach and Tennis Resort is where Cabrini men’s tennis team stayed over spring break this year. Hilton Head Island has top-rated facilities as well as over 350 tennis courts. The team traveled to South Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 24 for a week and returned to chilly Pennsylvania on Saturday, March 3.
The team, coached by Rich Aldrete, trained and played most of their matches at Hilton Head during their stay.
“It’s a trip the whole team looks forward to each year. It’s a real good way to warm-up for the upcoming season, and the team gets tough, competitive play with some Division II schools,” senior English and communication major Matthew Ingram said.
John Casparro, a senior finance major, said that he looks forward to going to Hilton Head. Casparro said he enjoyed getting out of the cold weather and being able to play tennis then walk to the beach. He says that’s the greatest part of the trip.
“It really gives us time to focus on our season,” Casparro said.
During the week, the team played against Mercyhurst College, which is a Division II school, Catholic University of America and St. John’s University of Minnesota.
“Mercyhurst has a great reputation. Contending with Mercyhurst will prepare us well for the season and should give us some respect as a serious tennis program,” Casparro said.
“This year’s going to be a little different for me because I’m the captain so I have to look out for the best interest of the team, not saying I haven’t the previous three years though,” Ingram said.
Ingram has hopes to bring the team together even more than they already are. He’s pushing to come out with a lot of individual wins because he believes that it will be great way to go into their season especially against the talented teams at Hilton Head.
Casparro had some individual goals as well as team goals for this season. He said that he would like to repeat as a finalist in doubles in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference Championship this year. Casparro referenced back to last season and explained that they “dominated the tournament having someone medaling in each position except 6th singles and 2nd doubles.”
For the team, Casparro hopes to be able to compete for the PAC Championship again this season.
“We lost some great players last year but I believe that Coach Rich is the best coach that we could have and losing those players won’t matter,” Casparro said.
Hilton Head was an opportunity for the team to get some outdoor tennis under their belts which helps them to prepare for the season. The idea for their spring break trip was to play tough teams and to physically and mentally prepare them for their upcoming season.
