Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

Well tennis people, the end has finally come. The past 4 years have certainly flown by, much faster than I had hoped they would. Sure, I was once a naive freshman who thought that college would last forever, but I could not have been more wrong. As I sit writing this, I am reflecting on all of the good, the bad, and the ugly and all of the things that I either choose to forget or just simply forgot.
    
Looking for schools during my senior year of high school, I really only had a few things that I deemed a requirement that the school has to have for me to even think about going. Those were: far enough away from home where I couldn’t drive home every weekend, the campus needed to be small enough to walk across, the class sizes needed to be one the smaller end, and most importantly there needed to be a tennis team that I could play on. After coming for my first visit to Saint Mary’s, I was hooked by the beautiful campus, small size, and the level of tennis that was being played here. I remember leaving the visit for the long ride back home and getting a call from Coach Halberg within probably an hour of leaving asking me how I like the campus. The only thing I can remember saying is “You will be seeing me in the fall!” That was the start of one of the most amazing experiences that I have had in my life.
    
Tennis, at times, can be, in my opinion, considered a whole new animal, completely different than anything else. For instance, it is considered a team sport, but most of the competition is competed at an individual level. At least, that’s what I though coming onto the team my freshman year. It was soon evident to me that tennis was no longer an individual sport but a completely team oriented sport.  You have an entire team that is there to back you up whenever your not playing the best or whenever you lose a tough or tight match. On the other side, they are always there to celebrate with you after all wins, no matter the difficulty. We are there for each other through the thick and the thin. This tennis team, both men’s and women’s, have truly in my mind been a family away from my family, and a family that I am very happy to have been a part of.
  
With that being said, I need to thank some members of this team who have been there through the thick and thin. Coach ‘Silver Fox’ Halberg, where do I begin? You were one of the driving factors in my decision to come to this school, on my visit you seemed genuinely interested in me as a person and not just another possible tennis player on your team. Over the years, you have taught me so much, all of which will not be forgotten. We have been through some great times together, for example every time we play money and you always seem to nearly hit me in the head with a ball. You always seem to know the right thing to say no matter the situation. We have had some good times and some bad times, but I am glad to have been able to play tennis for you for 4 years and will forever be grateful for that opportunity. Thank you for everything that you have done and will continue to do for the game of tennis and the Cardinals.
    
To Blake, Warren, and Collin, going through these past 4 years without you guys would have changed the experience completely. Blake, you never seemed to amaze me. Through the shenanigans that you always seem to get into to the way that you play tennis, I have never met anyone quite like you and I probably will never meet anyone like you again and of course, I say this in the nicest way possible. You seemed to always be able to say something that would make the rest of us laugh, even in situations where everyone was angry and mad. Whether you had just played the 10th straight “worst match of my life” or went out on the court and showed it your all and came away with an amazing victory, you always had something to say afterwards that could always bring a smile to my face and for that and many other reasons, I will forever be thankful that you were one of my teammates for the past 4 years. Keep doing your art thing, and I am sure that you will be able to make another design that ends up as the background on Collin’s phone. Oh, and thanks for finally making the ‘Birdhouse’ sign… it was about time.
    
Warren, I don’t ever think I will find someone that plays a game of tennis quite like you do. The way that you can drop the ball and just make everyone scramble from the baseline to try and get to it has always flabbergasted me. On and off the court, you always seemed to have a smile on your face even when things got rough. You have played some amazing matches and had some amazing scores come out of those matches such as the Gustavus match this year, which I am sure I do not need to remind anybody about. It was a great pleasure getting to know you and being able to play against you over the past 4 years, even though I never was able to get ahead of you in the line up (despite my best efforts). I know you will do well in whatever you end up doing.
    
Collin, it has been an honor playing with someone of your ability. Going through the years, I have learned quite a bit about tennis just from watching you play which I believe has been very beneficial to my game. While you got stuck in the 1 spot this year, you still had what I believe to be one of your best seasons, going the distance in a lot of really tough matches and at times, playing a lot better than you thought you could play. Going forward, I have one simple suggestion for you; please for the love of everything that is holy, try a food item that is not chicken nuggets, pizza, milkshakes, or candy. You might find something that you actually like more than pizza or chicken nuggets and nothing is stranger than ordering chicken nuggets and other children’s meals at business meetings. We may give you a hard time some times but you know that it is all in good fun. Keep doing what your doing and go on to teach the next generation of tennis players to make tennis great again.
    
To the other boys who still have a few years left, which I am extremely jealous of, playing tennis here at Saint Mary’s. Its your time to take over the reigns of this team, the team is yours and its time to step up. I say this not to just the sophomores, but to our lonely freshman as well.
    
Brenden, if you keep playing at the level that you are playing at now, I see very bright things in your future. You have progressed so much in the past 2 years. Much like the Broncos winning the super bowl this year; I am astonished at how far you have been able to come since last year. You have proven time and time again that your game is not a fluke playing many great matches and going on to win some of them. It has been an honor being able to play and practice with you. Keep doing what you are doing and continue to make me proud to be a member of the Cardinal tennis team.
    
Brett, Brett, Brett. I don’t think I have enough room in this thing to say everything that I want to say about Brett so I will try to keep it short. Keep grinding out there and keep you head up and into the game. When you are on your game, you are nearly unstoppable which is one thing that I have seen time and time again. If you can come back next year stronger and faster, I can’t fathom you loosing very many matches. Be there for the rest of the guys because the new guys coming in will be looking up to you; literally (get it, because your tall… hahaha, I’m hilarious) and figuratively.
    
Zoo, Big cat, Zuzek, Alex (?), you have progressed so much since the end of last season. When I saw you play for the first time at the beginning of this year, I thought to myself that I was destined to be playing under you once more. Playing doubles with you was one of the best experiences because you always have a smile on your face and a very optimistic outlook on the match. While we easily lost more together than we won, we had some really good matches and I am glad to have called you one of my doubles partners. Keep grinding this summer and I am positive that you will have a starting spot on next year’s team, doubles and singles lineup.
    
Holm, Holmer, Alex (?), you, much like Blake, have proved that tennis players are different than everyone else. Your ability on the court is incredible. Whether you like hearing it from me or not, you are a good player which is evident due to the fact that you played ahead of me for the entire year, something that I may never forgive you for (lol, jk) but something that you really deserved. Keep you head in the game and you will be able to do great things over the next 2 years.
    
Last but not least, the lonely freshman, Kyle, Swan, Swanny, and many other nicknames that we have given you over the course of the year. You have progressed well over the year and I believe that with some playing this summer, great things will come for you next year. Keep practicing and start interacting with the rest of the team a little more. Hang around after practice, eat meals with them, and please let someone know that you like being on the team… I cant tell you how many times Duden has asked me and the rest of the boys if you are enjoying on your team. Please tell him that you are so he stops asking!
    
To the lady Cardinals, you have been playing some incredible tennis this year coming through with some major wins that some thought you wouldn’t get. With continued practice and the drive to succeed, I can see many conference tournament runs within the next couple of years, which is something that I am sure will make Halberg incredibly happy about. Keep playing as hard as you can and having fun out on the courts and good things will come to your team.
    
Last, but certainly not least, Duden. There are not enough words to describe how much you have helped me progress over the past 4 years. Coming in to the school, being honest with myself, I was a pretty horrid tennis player. Through the years, I feel like I have progressed to a level, which surpassed what I believed that I could get to, and I have you and Halberg to thank for that. Getting out on the court and playing the game that you love with a team that you love being around really speaks a lot about who you are and that you continue the game for the love of the game. Much like Halberg, you always seemed to know the right thing to say at the right time and no matter how much crap I or the rest of the team gave you over the past couple of years, you stuck around and continued to help us through our tough times and were just overall there for us. I, and the rest of the team, am incredibly lucky to have you around. No other team in tennis has a head assistant tennis coach like you. Keep kicking the field goals and maybe try and pick up a tennis racquet to play with for more than a couple of months? Eh, just a thought … Oh and P.S., I will be waiting for the invitation to the wedding
    
Overall, the past four years at Saint Mary’s have been absolutely incredible. There have been many ups and many downs but tennis seemed to be one of the never-ending outlets to which I could release for an hour and a half a day almost every day. Being on this team with the current players and those who I have played with in the past is something that I will remember forever. There are not enough words to use to show my gratitude for Coaches Halberg and Duden, the Saint Mary’s Athletics Department, and everyone who has made the tennis program at this University possible. While I cannot be in attendance at today’s match due to important job-related stuff, I will be there in spirit always thinking of Cardinal Tennis.
    
Thank You! #FlockUp #BirdStuff #Birds #Birdhouse