Conrad Olson '09 set to hit the national stage

Author: Jeff Klein

The Division III tennis world will soon have a new national champion. That national champion could very well be a Panther.

Yes, Conrad Olson '09 has the potential to do great things next week, but first, backtrack two weekends.

Olson and the Middlebury men's tennis team competed in the ITA NESCAC Regional, a three-day tournament hosted by Williams. The singles draw included 64 players from 20 different colleges from the Northeast, largely comprised of other NESCAC schools, while the doubles draw was made up of 32 teams from those 20 different schools.

Olson was the star of the day. He and his partner, Andrew Peters '11, reached the semifinals in the doubles bracket before losing to the eventual champions from Bates.

More notably, Olson won the singles tournament. And he did not just win, he dominated. He received a first-round bye and then won five consecutive matches in straight sets, including a 6-1, 6-1 demolition of his opponent in the finals.

"My initial reaction upon winning the ITA regional was immense satisfaction," Olson said. "After not being able to play all of last fall because of rib and wrist injuries and not being here last spring, it felt great to win the biggest tournament in the fall and become the champion of the region. I worked extremely hard this summer on my game and have worked hard on my conditioning and quickness this fall, especially at the 6 a.m. morning workouts that we have twice a week on top of everyday two and a half hour practices."

Olson's first-place finish has earned him the right to compete in the National Division III tournament in Mobile, Ala., which runs from Thursday, Oct. 16 to Saturday, Oct. 18.

The tournament rounds up the seven other winners from their specific regions around the country. The winner of this tournament will become the top-ranked Division III player in the country - the national champion. The winner will then have the right to compete against the winner of the Division II tournament; the winner of that gets invited to compete in the national Division I individuals' tournament, hosted by University of Virginia in November.

So it is safe to say that there is a lot on the line for Olson beginning next week. But there is no question that he is up to the challenge.

"I feel quite confident going into the tournament," he said. "Winning six matches in three days against the best players in the region gives you a ton of confidence."

Appropriately, he also feels some nervous excitement as he prepares to hit the big stage.

"I do feel nervous because I have never participated in this tournament before and I know that I will be facing some of my toughest rivals there," he admitted. "I also feel nervous because I have high expectations for myself and hope to win the tournament and don't want to fail."

But at the same time, Olson is keeping everything in perspective, enjoying the ride as he goes along.

"I also feel relaxed," he said, "because winning the regional and getting to go down south to Alabama and compete in a wonderful event like this one is such a privilege. You just have to enjoy the moment and not put too much pressure on yourself."

In terms of strategy, Olson articulated a few specific goals that he believes will give him success.

"I will need to keep holding my ground on the baseline and take away the ball early to take away my opponent's time," he said. "This prevents him from having enough time to be aggressive. I will also need to continue hitting a high percentage of first serves, hitting the ball deep and heavy cross court and when I get the short ball, putting it away for a winner." Like in any athletic competition, staying mentally strong is also crucial, which Olson acknowledged.

"Most importantly, I need to stay calm and focused," he said. "Staying calm and focused were key to me winning the ITA Regional last weekend." The bottom line is that Olson is "feeling extremely excited at the prospect of possibly returning to Middlebury as the number one player in the country."

If the ITA regional was any indication, that prospect has a good chance of becoming a reality.