Bronco netters hoping to step it up this spring

Karen Boehler
NMMI Sports Press
The Bronco men’s tennis team had a strong fall season, finishing with a No. 7 ranking as a team and several top individual rankings. Which boded well for the spring.
“But we also suffered several setbacks,” said coach William O’Connell. “Lost two starters. We definitely lost a lot of strength and depth with them.”
NMMI will have a full squad, and No. 1 and 2 Herman Abban and Noureldin Adam are back, but everyone else will have to step it up a notch.
“We’re definitely very strong up top, but we lost our three in Julian Hawkins and our five/six in Sacha Borel,” O’Connell said. “So we’re definitely hurting. Especially when you lose your No. 3 guy. Everybody slides down one. We’ve lost a bit of depth but I think guys are going to step up in a major way. I’m excited to see what they do.”
Abban was last year’s NMMI Athlete of the Year, finishing 12th nationally in doubles (with Adam) and 25th in singles. The sophomore from Ghana has firmly settled into the No. 1 spot for the Institute.
Adam, a freshman who arrived in August, finished the fall ranked No. 35 in singles.
“Just a super talented player from Sudan,” O’Connell said. “Good work ethic. We love having him around. Super nice guy to be around. Very easy-going nature. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”
But despite that easy-going nature off the court, the coach said he’s a “beast” on the court.
No. 3 is Tebatibunga Bira, a sophomore who was ineligible in the fall but is back for the spring.
“We’re happy to have him back,” the coach said.
At No. 4 is Dave Romero, a sophomore from Las Vegas, N.M.
“Super mature head on his shoulders,” O’Connell said. “Handles the big moments really well. I look forward to seeing him do well this spring.”
Brian Collier was also ineligible  in the fall, but the freshman from Austin, Texas, is back on the court, and O’Connell is happy to have him back.
“Awesome guy. Works hard,” the coach said.
Rounding out the Bronco squad is Goddard grad Hector Rodriguez, a ROTC cadet who didn’t play his freshman year.
“He was eager to get back in it, which is awesome,” O’Connell said. “He worked extremely hard, so it’s awesome to have him on board.”
While Abban has established himself as No. 1 and. Nouraldine has a foot in the No. 2 spot, O’Connell said the rest of the spots are fluid, depending on how his players perform.
“I’m fairly confident, but we’ll swap it around and see who does well at different spots,” he said. “We can talk and I can think about how people will do, but it’s only once they’re put in the position that we truly find out. I’’m excited, though.”
O’Connell doesn’t want to put pressure on his players by saying how he hopes they’ll finish. They do have goals, though.
“I want to finish top 15 in the country this year,” he said. “That’s a slight step down from last year, but losing two of our guys, it’s maybe understandable.”
Then, he wants to beat Collin County, which historically has finished No. 1 in the region. (The final fall rankings have NMMI one slot above the Cougars both regionally and nationally.)
“Again, another tough one,” O’Connell said. “If everybody plays extremely well, maybe we can make it happen, but the odds are further against us now.”
The Broncos will get a good idea of just where they stand when they open the season Friday at the Collin County Super Six in Plano, Texas.
Besides seeing the host Cougars, they’ll face NAIA school Texas A&M Texarkana; No. 2-ranked JUCO Seminole State College and tough Jacksonville College.
“This weekend will be a good test,” O’Connell said. “We’ll know where we stack.”
And, with more matches in fewer weeks than last year, O’Connell said they’ll be ready when it counts.
“Definitely by the time nationals rolls around, we’ll be more than ready.”