It was a cool night underneath the Hunter St. Bridge. You could see your breath in the air, but still twenty-some Trent students endured the cold to whack balls around Quaker Park Tennis Clubs’ five clay courts.
So many Trent tennis players showed up that the club president, Hiten Dave and vice-president, Gianni Salluzzo-Lombardo were forced to watch the action while they waited for a court to open up. Dave and Salluzzo-Lombardo are international students, who are trying to maintain their passion of tennis here at Trent.
Trent’s Tennis Club gathers to play on Friday nights from 7-9pm at Quaker Park Tennis Club. Dave says there are over 60 students signed up for the club, but only about 20 show up on any given Friday night. “It’s just recreational play. We are open to beginners or experienced players. We just come here and you can play a match, or do some training” Dave said.
As they wait, Dave and Salluzzo-Lombardo talk about their ambitions for Trent’s Tennis club. “Fleming has an intramural league and we’d like to get one going at Trent too,” Dave said. Salluzzo-Lombardo suggested that with an intramural league at Trent, the two schools could even have a showdown.
“There are no courts on campus. It’s strange; you think of Trent as this outdoorsy school and we don’t even have tennis courts,” said Dave. “We need to encourage Trent to treat tennis as a main sport.”
For now though, Dave and Salluzzo-Lombardo are focusing on growing the club. “We could use people with managing experience to help [in executive positions of the club],” said Salluzzo-Lombardo.
As a self-funded club they have had to rely on Quaker Park Tennis club for some assistance. “I always want to take the opportunity to thank Quaker for reasonable prices, supplying us balls and extra racquets. It would be impossible without them,” Dave said.
As Dave and Saluzzo-Lombardo stand on Quaker Park’s balcony their eyes follow tennis balls back and forth on the court. They are far from home, but you wouldn’t know it.