FCC Tennis Teams Qualify For Playoffs

sides. Photo by Claudia ChavezChantel Wiggins, head coach of tennis at Fresno City College, said she was excited to share that men’s and women’s tennis teams are doing well and have qualified for the playoffs.

“It’s been fun,” Wiggins said. “For the women’s side, we’ve had problems because instead of having six women on our team we have five, but it’s been really impressive. The heart of these women is really amazing.”

In addition, the five women on the team are all new players who are also new to tennis; likewise, all 10 players and on the men’s team are brand new.

“Last year, we had a lot of problems for the men’s side because of being able to keep them eligible,” Wiggins said. “But this year, things are going good. Their work ethic is so good to be around.”

Typical practice for both teams consists of a variety of conditioning methods. Wiggins says it varies every single day and that after a match, she likes to focus on the area where her players didn’t do so well.

She also said that she tries to get her players into shape in the fall.

“I try to make them realize it’s not high school anymore while focusing on their conditioning along with hitting,” Wiggins said. “Some players have individual things to focus on before matches, and I keep them in a good hitting rhythm.”

Wiggins says that her goal for both teams this season is to make playoffs. “Both teams have qualified for playoffs and then if we make it, then I want us to do as well as we can in what we have with the playoffs.”

Her coaching philosophy stems from her past experience of playing tennis at Fresno State for four years. Now as the head coach for FCC, Wiggins brings the mentality of coaching a division one.

“We train hard to be the most fit,” she said. “While I make them stronger and smarter, it’s also a tough program, so they don’t feel like they’re wasting their time.”

Wiggins’ evaluates her team during a match to identify problem areas which she focuses on at the end of matches.

“The way, I feel is that when my kids win matches, I lose matches,” she said. “When they lose a match, I go back to the drawing board and see how we can win the next time we see that player.”

The overall goal for the rest of the season consists of winning doubles matches.

“I’ve always focused on winning the doubles point, so I think I’ve carried that over to my coaching strategies,” she said. “It’s been really tough in the doubles this year, and I want to win more of them. We can get away with a few singles, but the doubles is what counts.”