It came down to the final match for the Seattle University men’s tennis team. Last weekend, the Redhawks took on the Sacramento State University Hornets for their third home match of the 2025 season. Prior to this match, the team held a record of 0-2, taking losses from the University of Washington and Gonzaga University with scores of 4-0 for both matches. The team had already secured the doubles point with wins from Yuan Lu and Yu-Han Hsieh, along with Veselin Kiselkov and Michael Frank. Lu and Hsieh also took home victories in their singles matches, so it was left up to the senior and team number one, Filip Stipic, to win his match.
After taking the first set 6-3 versus Sacramento State’s Henry Lamchinniah, Stipic had a slow start to the second set getting down 5-3. But he was able to find his rhythm again, eventually securing the victory, 7-5 and clinching the win for the Redhawks, 4-3.
“The team did great today… We had great energy across all the courts. Honestly overall it was just a great match,” Grad Student and the team’s number two, Jun Sasagawa said.
Unlike many other sports, tennis doesn’t have the same large crowds with yelling and screaming fans packing the grandstands. But despite the lack of fans, there was no shortage of energy within the Amy Yee Tennis Center. The support that the team showed each other made up for the lack of fan support during the matches. It wasn’t uncommon for one player to yell at another court to give their teammate words of encouragement during their match. With the team being so senior dominated, many of the seniors had been playing together since the beginning of their collegiate careers. The chemistry that this squad has is unlike many other teams.
“We have seven guys that are graduating this year. We’re pretty tight. We’re like brothers you know, and the energy is just great. We do pretty much everything together. So, we just show that on the court,” Stipic said.
This season can be seen as a farewell tour for the Redhawks. It was announced Nov. 14, 2024, that the men’s tennis program at Seattle U, along with the men’s and women’s indoor track program, will be discontinued after the 2024-25 season. With seven of the nine players on the team graduating this year, the team is looking to be as successful as possible while also looking to enjoy their final season together. Hiroki Fujita joined the Seattle U tennis program as a graduate assistant coach in 2024.
“Obviously I want them to win as many matches as possible, but I also want them to enjoy every single moment,” Fujita said.
The day after the Sacramento State match, Feb. 8, the team took on Oklahoma State University at the Nordstrom Tennis Center at the University of Washington. Unfortunately, the Redhawks were not able to take home a win for this match. The team lost to the Cowboys 4-0. Seattle U stays home for one more match, taking on the University of Portland Feb. 15 once again at the Amy Yee Tennis Center. The team will then hit the road and head over to Spokane to take on both Gonzaga and Eastern Washington University. With this being the last season before Seattle U says goodbye to the Redhawks men’s tennis program, the team is looking to go out with a bang, while also enjoying their last ride all together as a team.
