With temperatures at 17 degrees when players arrived on Friday morning, Jan. 24, the varsity tennis team had to learn how to not only play tennis, but defeat, or simply survive, the cold in the process.  Players arrived at the three match locations, Argyle, Liberty Christian, and Krum at 8 a.m., with all locations below 20 degrees to begin their day of chilling matches.  Before players began their first round of matches, they had to adapt and figure out the best way to stay warm to succeed in the day’s games.

“I stayed focused just by reminding myself that my opponents were playing in the same conditions, and they had to deal with the same bad weather that I did,” senior Jack Vickery said.

Many players had to keep that mentality to remain focused on their matches, which may seem like a difficult task to do when even the warm-up sweats could not keep any person warm.  However, the varsity team put more emphasis on the fact that they had games to play and continued with Vickery’s attitude.

”I just had to stay focused and forget about the weather conditions,” freshman Allison Mann said.

While in the matches, players had to focus on how to overcome the obstacles of the freezing weather that affected their tennis game.

”The cold weather made it more difficult to grip the racquet and toss the ball while serving,” senior Margaret Stein said.

With similar issues others learned to adapt in the weather.

“The weather definitely affected how I played when it was that cold,” Vickery said. “The ball does not bounce and sit up high as much as it does when it is warmer, so you have to adjust accordingly.”

The cold weather may seem like a negative element to play in, but players can chose to overcome it and possibly use it to their benefit.  With everyone focused on the temperature and wanting to move to a warmer area, the mentality concentrated on forgetting about the cold may help in winning a match.

”In a match a player could possibly have an advantage over their opponent, if all they could focus on was the cold weather,” Stein said.

Realizing that one’s opponent is just as cold and wanting to leave the courts to get warm, is an advantage any player could choose to use.  With the successes of the day, it seems as if the entire varsity team chose to have that mentality.

The days rankings included: Jack Vickery and Margaret Stein placing 2nd in Mixed Doubles, Maddie Moseley and Sydney Austin placing 2nd in Girls Doubles, Shawn Keil and Adriatik Begaj placing 4th in boys doubles, and Brandon Couch placing 3rd in Boys Singles.

With several tournaments scheduled for the season, players are now prepared for the cold and have advice now for players that will also have to endure the cold during the winter.

“This was the coldest tournament I have played in but people brought tents or sat in their cars,” junior Megan Megan McKenna said.  “We also wore lots of layers.  However, I wish that gloves were compatible with tennis because our hands were going numb.”

The varsity team will be traveling to Boswell to play dual matches Friday, Jan. 31.  Luckily, it seems as if the weather will be an improvement from the past weeks tournament and worrying about how to endure the cold does not look as if it will be a problem.