Tennis
The tennis team began its inaugural season in Spring 2009. Led by
Head Coach Serge Nalywayko and Assistant Coach Dennis Anderson, the CIA
Steels finished the regular season with a 4-1 record, good for second
place out of the six conference tennis teams. The team traveled to the
United States Tennis Center in New York City (site of the U.S. Open) to
compete in the conference tournament in May, finishing in fifth place.
Coach Nalywayko was encouraged by the results. "It was a nice start
to the program for us, with many students interested and trying out for
the team," he says. "Of our final group of 13 selected, we had some
tremendous tennis talent and it showed during the regular season
matches. We hope to improve our focus for the conference tournament in
2010."
The 2010 CIA team again finished their regular season with a strong
4-1 conference match mark, with four of the players returning from the
2009 squad. The conference tournament, held again at the USTA Tennis
Center, brought a fourth place finish.
The
2011 season brought enthusiasm and the hopes for continued development
of the tennis program and the team delivered in both the regular season
and conference tournament. The Steels finished with an overall 4-2
regular season record (3-2 within the conference) which was good enough
for a tie for the second best record within the HVMAC. The end of season
tournament brought a stellar performance by the team, finishing in
second place behind the perennial conference powerhouse Cooper Union.
The CIA advanced very well through the nine, individual tournament
flights reaching the finals in six flights (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th singles;
1st doubles and winning the flight championship in 3rd doubles).
In 2012, the CIA tennis team won its first regular-season conference
championship! While the college's 4-1 conference record was good for a
three-way tie with Cooper Union and Pratt Institute, the CIA claimed the
title on a tiebreaker, having lost fewer individual flight matches
against the other two schools. The conference tournament on May 5—played
once again at the site of the U.S. Open in Flushing, NY—resulted in a
runner-up finish for the third time in the program's short history. The
CIA's first doubles team (Kevin Bender and Pierre Mewissen) captured
that flight's championship!
The 2013 CIA tennis season will feature five returning team members,
forming a formidable "recipe" to again compete for the HVMAC title.