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Lewis has been bright light for CSU tennis
CSU website – BALTIMORE – With this being the height of “March
Gavin Lewis (left) and members of the CSU team. (CSU website)
Madness” across the country, we can be excused for using a Dick Vitale-like pun when describing the talents of Coppin State freshman Gavin Lewis, a true “diaper dandy” on the men’s tennis team.
Lewis enjoyed a memorable week by winning two matches at No. 3 singles. He defeated Loyola’s Tim Dowd (7-5, 7-5) and North Carolina Central’s Jamal Hoyte in a three-set tiebreak thriller (6-3, 1-6, 10-8) last Friday. His two-match win streak was stopped by Howard’s Myron Davis (6-2, 6-2) on Sunday.
His victories highlighted a pair of Coppin State setbacks. He has been a shining light during a tough start to the Eagles’ season.
“The first two matches I played this spring, I got creamed,” Lewis said. “It was a great feeling to win my first collegiate match. At first, I wasn’t too satisfied and I felt like I could have played much better, but in the end, I won and I guess that’s what counts. I have gotten more confident in myself.”
Lewis, a criminal justice student from Georgetown, Guyana, has slowly adjusted to the demands of playing Division I tennis and the intense training required to compete at a consistently high level.
“The training here is tough compared to what I received back home,” Lewis said. “There have been times that I can’t walk and (Coppin State head) coach (Diwani Lewis) says we haven’t done anything. He says ‘this is just a warm-up.’ The transition has been tough to take in.”
Fortunately, Lewis has been surrounded by nurturing teammates David Ogan, Reginald Robinson and Patrick Thomas. They have all made Lewis feel like a welcomed member of the team.
“Everyone on the team encourages and motivates you to do better,” Lewis said. “I am not used to that. Back home, if you have a bad day, nobody encourages or says anything to you. We have a good relationship off the court and it helps as a team.”
Coppin State (0-4 overall, 0-1 MEAC) is home for a three-match MEAC homestand against Hampton (Wednesday, 2:00 p.m.), Maryland Eastern Shore (Friday, 3:00 p.m.) and Norfolk State (Saturday, noon).
On the women’s side, the Eagles have dropped matches to Loyola and Howard this season.
Lewis’ performances this season have been a welcomed sight to Coppin State head coach Diwani Lewis also of Guyana.
“Gavin has surpassed my expectation of him thus far this season,” Lewis said. “Being that it is his first season, I wasn’t really expecting much, only for him to gain some valuable experience at this level. However, given his performance I had to re-evaluate my initial thoughts of him. He has stepped up on every occasion and competed well. He has shown no signs of freshman jitters, but only that of a seasoned player. I am very excited about his recruitment and I am confident that he will only get better.” (Rob Knox)
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