More than a decade ago, Justin Lee occupied himself by simply rallying back and forth with his father in a neighborhood tennis court. Now the senior is more focused on a loftier goal: trying to lead the rejuvenated Blue Jays to a conference championship and a first-ever trip to Nationals.
"Getting to nationals and winning a conference championship would be a great victory lap to my career," Lee said. "Whatever we accomplish this season though will be a solid indicator of how far this program has come."
Lee's latest singles match victory helped catapult the Blue Jays past Muhlenberg 7-0, improving the team's overall record to 12-6. For Lee, the victory was a great display of his ability to quickly adapt to his opponent's weakness.
"My last opponent played a similar style game to myself, in that he was a baseliner," Lee said. "This meant we would both be sitting back taking ground strokes at one another, sometimes 12 to 13 balls in a series. That sort of game can become mentally taxing, so I figured I should go up and attack."
Lee also mentioned that his newfound ability to attack the net and volley is a compliment to an improved coaching staff currently in its second season.
"Our coaches really started to emphasize a more serious practice atmosphere," Lee said. "We've integrated more physical conditioning to help our endurance and balance on the court. We've also tailored practices to our opponents, which has helped to make us more competitive. I've never enjoyed practice more than I have this year."
From completing core abdominal exercises to participating in quick volley routines against the wall, Lee commented that the coaching staff's regimen is working for him.
"By picking up the volley shot and mastering it, I have become a more complete player and that is why I am having this success and enjoying tennis too," Lee said. "My serve is much better now because I don't double fault as much. I don't feel the disadvantage with my second serve, which disallows my opponent from being able to come up and attack."
More importantly, Lee said that the improved atmosphere has given the Blue Jays a chance to compete at the national level.
"For myself, I know I wasn't really enjoying practice or matches two seasons ago as a sophomore. I didn't feel like our team was going anywhere," he said. "Now we come to practice with a purpose. We have our goals laid out for us, which give us a reason to go out and work hard."
From neighborhood games against his father to USTA matches as a middle school student, Lee has always embraced the inherent quality of tennis competition.
"I've always prided myself on being a competitor on the court," Lee said. "There have been times when I lost a set 6-0, but picked myself back up to win the match. Knowing that the match is not won until the last ball, I've always had to have the mental toughness to concentrate on each and every play."
He added that the independence of tennis' singles play, in general, suits his personality.
"I like the fact that I'm out there all alone and I am the one to blame for whatever goes wrong," he said. "But at the same time, I also receive all the immediate benefits from my strong play. It's not like basketball, football or hockey where the blame or credit gets shifted around. I'm an independent person, so my destiny is in my hands."
