This week, Spencer Furman and the Duke men's tennis team will travel to Seattle for the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship. Furman grew up in Seattle and went to Sammamish High School. The ability to take his teammates to his hometown is a dream come true. Read on to see what the sophomore has to say about this trip, the 2018 dual match season and more.
It was great to have the team together in my home. I think it made our team even closer because it let us bond off the tennis courts. We spend so much time together on the court so it was great to have the team and coaches together off the court. We had dinner at my house the first night. It set the tone for the entire weekend. The positive energy started when we landed in Fort Worth. We took that energy along with us the whole time.
Since it was one of our team goals to qualify for the ITA National Men's Team Indoor Championship, it was very special to feel all our hard work already paying off with results so quickly in the year. It really showed us what we are capable of this year. There were three other great teams at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend. To come out as the winner really showed everyone on our team we can compete with anyone and that we deserve to be one of the final 16 teams in Seattle. Also, to win without Nico [Alvarez] playing showed our character and that Duke Men’s Tennis responds to adversity and challenges -- that we just keep fighting, even when it is easy to make excuses for ourselves.
Later in the year I think we will look back and be confident in our ability because we have an impressive outing already under our belt. We know that we have to work until we achieve our next goal, but it feels good to have this goal accomplished.
Credits:
Created with images by Timothy Eberly - "Good Morning Seattle" • Alex Mertz - "Space Needle at Sunset"