BG tennis senior co-captains Jenna Nussbaum and Andrea Volle have played an integral role in the success of this year’s team.
With wins over Cincinnati and Xavier last weekend, Nussbaum and Volle have helped lead the Falcons to a 9-0 record – the second best start in school history.
Coach Penny Dean said Nussbaum and Volle have played a huge part in the team’s early-season success.
“I feel when dual matches start, as the captains go and as the captains lead us goes the team,” Dean said. “They’re doing a phenomenal job and I think it’s played a huge role in our success and I expect it to continue throughout the rest of this season.”
BG hopes to surpass the school record for best start (10-0) when it travels to California next week to face UC San Diego and Cal Poly Pomona.
As captains, voted on by their teammates, Nussbaum and Volle are excited about the opportunity.
It’s neat because you have all the people you’ve looked up to for three years, then you’re captain and you see how all the other players look up to you now, said Volle.
Nussbaum, in her second year as a captain, said she has gotten more comfortable being in that leadership position and knowing what it takes to have a successful season.
Nussbaum and Volle serve many roles as captains. They serve as leaders, role models, liaisons between the players and the coach and, according to Dean, “watch dogs.”
“They keep the team on track,” Dean said. “They keep them motivated, and they keep us doing the little things to make each player better.”
Simply put, we serve as two more coaches, said Volle. Any concerns or problems the team is having, they discuss it with us first.
Volle said the biggest part of being a captain is being a role model to the team.
“It’s not so much we set up rules the team has to abide by, but they see how we act and how we conduct ourselves.”
Being a captain isn’t all about being a leader, liaison or role model, there’s also some fun perks involved.
Nussbaum and Volle are in charge of picking the uniforms worn for each match and what clothes and shoes the team gets for the year. They also help with decisions regarding the banquet and practices.
With the final stretch of their senior season vastly approaching and graduation upon them, the thought of missing their teammates when the season is over is on their minds.
“I’ll miss my teammates the most,” Nussbaum said. “I’m going to mostly miss being around great, enthusiastic friends that really want what’s best for the team and willing to do what’s best for the team before what’s best for them.”
“Every year there’s always a memory made. It’s going to be really hard not being around them every single day,” she said.
“We’re like sisters,” Volle said about the team. “We do everything together. It’s so much more than a team, it’s like a family. I’ll feel like I’m leaving my family when I graduate.”
Dean will miss their individual tennis games.
Both players are ranked in the top 20 in BG history for combined wins in a career – Nussbaum is 18th with 94 wins, while Volle is 19th with 91.
But, more importantly, Dean will miss them as people.
“I’ll miss them so much as people because you get to know them so well. Four years of many, many, many hours together. I’ll miss their conversations and camaraderie.”
One conversation Dean will remember is the one she had with Volle during Volle’s freshman year. Dean didn’t comment on the conversation, but said it involved some “motherly advice.”
Dean will also remember Volle for always being organized and detailed and being a huge hitter on the tennis court. She’ll remember Nussbaum for her doubles play, her crazy relationships, her constant enthusiasm and for having a “fantastic serve that all of us admire.”
Coach Dean said it’s been an honor to coach them.
Through their first three seasons on the tennis team, best friends Nussbaum and Volle never played together. That changed this season when coach Dean paired them together. Volle admits it was challenging at first.
“Being a doubles partner with [Nussbaum] has been challenging,” Volle said, “because we’re so comfortable with each other and we fight like sisters.”
Fighting hasn’t been a issue as the duo is 7-2 at the second flight in doubles play since dual-match play has begun. And they have helped BG win the doubles point in eight of its nine dual matches this season.
While the team has come out of the gates on a roll, Nussbaum and Volle, along with the team, don’t feel the season will be a success unless they win the Mid-American Conference.
“Our dream is to win the MAC,” Nussbaum said. “When we go to practice, when we work out, when we’re traveling, that’s what drives us to be as successful as we’ve been.”
“I don’t think anything could top the feeling of coming up on top in the MAC,” Volle said. “Winning all the MAC matches or winning the MAC tournament would be the ultimate; that would be more amazing than any winning streak.”
The Falcons will begin their quest to win the MAC on March 21 when they travel to Ypsilanti, Mich., to face Eastern Michigan.