We recently caught up with tennis coach Jamie Nanez to ask about his opinion on the fall tennis season. Here's what he had to say:

How do you think the fall tennis season went?  
One of our major goals for the men's team was to have three players qualify for the ITA Cup in Rome, Georgia. It hadn't happened in a while, and we were able to do that. I think if you asked the players, they really wanted to have a bit more success at the fall national tournament, but they gained some experience. Hopefully that fueled their tank a bit to carry them through the offseason and into the spring. 

On the women's side we have a lot of freshmen. So, at least for me, the main goal for this short fall season was to get them some experience in pressure situations and identify a few areas for development to hopefully put them in position to have a successful spring season.  

What will you take from it as a coach?
I am constantly thinking about my role as their coach and how I can help our players become the best version of themselves. Since taking on this role as head coach, I feel like what I value has evolved so much. We have a good group of young adults here, and I need to make sure I create a positive environment. 

We need to get much tougher as a team going into this spring season … the men and the women. When we arrived on campus, we created some goals. I think we have a lot of work to do in the offseason if we want to meet them. It is exciting for me and hopefully for the players as well. 

What did you learn about your players and how they respond in their matches? 
Again, we need to be tougher. They showed me times when they handled adversity well and other times where maybe we didn't respond that well. That is the learning curve. Hopefully once we talk about our mistakes, talk about who we want to be, and what we (as a team) want to be known for, we can start to put those pieces together.  

What will you ask the players to focus on when you return? 
I will ask them for the same thing I ask them for each day – to stay focused (academically and athletically), work hard, be coachable, and be a great teammate. The players know if they do those things, then they are good in my book!