Tennis star helps UNB conquer Atlantic university championship

The University of New Brunswick tennis team doesn't have the same legacy as the school's hockey team, and fans aren't lining up to watch the club team play — but that hasn't stopped the team from serving up a successful season.

This year, the tennis team won the Atlantic University Tennis Tournament, despite the fact Dalhousie University had won the tournament over the past three years and UNB had never won it.

But Dalhousie didn't have Minh Nguyen — and UNB did.

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"We couldn't have done it without him," said Rory Chisholm, Nguyen's teammate.

"We were cheering a lot … it was quite a moment," said Nguyen.

The 18-year-old is in his first year at UNB, but he's hardly a rookie. Nguyen has been playing since he was seven, growing up in Vietnam.

This season, he was named the most valuable player in Atlantic Canada.

"I was surprised at first, but it was really nice that I got the prize, and hopefully we get some fame for the UNB tennis team as well," said Nguyen.

Nguyen moved to Fredericton three years ago with his family, and his brother even played on UNB's tennis team before Nguyen was attending university.

New success

A few years ago, it would be hard to imagine UNB as the top team in Atlantic Canada. When Chisholm took over the team three years ago, it wasn't very competitive.

But Chisholm wanted to change that. He started recruiting players to join and got the team ready for more intense competition.

"I think that it's really important for university students in Atlantic Canada to have an opportunity to keep playing instead of having to go out west or to the States to play tennis while you're at university," said Chisholm.

At first, Chisholm struggled to find recruits for the squad, which is a club team at the university, but the university and the Atlantic league helped him find some new players.

Over the past few years, the team, and tennis across Atlantic Canada, has become more popular, according to Chisholm.

"It's amazing; it's a great feeling. It's really nice to see all the hard work over the years kind of end up paying off and us having something awesome that we can be proud of here at the university," said Chisholm.

Next steps

Chisholm graduates this year, but he leaves the team in very capable hands. Nguyen will be taking over coaching of the team and will start taking some coaching courses before next season.

But the team's season isn't over just yet, even though the school year is coming to an end.

Since UNB won the Atlantic championship in March, they will compete against the other top university teams this summer. The university national championship will be held in August in Toronto and Montreal in conjunction with the Rogers Cup.

"We will be doing a lot of practices during the summer," said Nguyen, who will be leading the practices for those who stay in Fredericton.

"My currently plan is to practice four days a week, but it could change depending on how the schedule works out."