The Observer, April 13, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 24
Tennis star Sinder stays cool despite breaking wins record
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If someone were to tell Ben Sinder that he had just broken the school record for wins, it would be news to him. While most athletes are striving to hit some kind of milestone in their careers, this tennis player just thought it was another match.
Sinder, a senior from East Lansing, Mich., broke the Case record for all-time wins on March 17 this year. "I didn't even know I did it when it happened," he said. "They had the record down wrong in the books. It was actually two or three more wins than it was supposed to be."
Sinder learned to play tennis at an early age. "I was about eight when my parents and I started hitting it around in the street," he said. Two years later, Sinder was playing competitively in United States Tennis Association junior tournaments. "For some reason, we always had a lot of good kids around me," Sinder said. "I think I lost every match I played in my first tournament."
Sinder also played soccer for his high school team, East Lansing High. The two seasons never conflicted, though, and he was able to juggle both sports. He never played on the extremely competitive AAU teams in soccer; he was always more focused on tennis. Since tennis is in season year-round, it was just natural.
In high school Sinder played in the number one doubles slot his freshman year, the number two singles slot his sophomore year, then returned to number one singles for the rest of his career. Typically those first two slots are reserved for the best players on a team. "Your best player plays number one singles generally," said Sinder. "Sometimes coaches think certain players are better at one type of play than the other. At the end of the day you still have to hit the ball over the net."
Sinder was recruited by multiple D-III and D-II schools coming out of high school. "I didn't really know what I wanted to study when I went to college," he said. "If it worked out, I wanted to continue playing tennis." Now, a biomedical engineering major, Sinder has one of the toughest course loads Case has to offer. His exploits on the court have been a little bit easier.
Since he arrived at Case, Sinder has been playing in the number one or two slot for both singles and doubles. As opposed to high school, the college tennis format allows athletes to play in both singles and doubles matches in the tournament. Sinder has been Case's most consistent player, with a winning percentage over .700. Since breaking the school record of 85 combined wins, he has added six more wins, raising the bar to 91.
While the team is 6-6 right now, Sinder believes it still can turn things around.
"This is the best team we've had since I've been here," said Sinder. "We just have a lot more depth than before. We've got a real shot at making the NCAA tournament."
Sinder attributes this increase in talent to the team's younger players. "We've gotten some really good players over the past couple years," he said. "Smart people play tennis, you know? It's easier to bring in good players."
If the team can come together to win two upcoming road matches at Tiffin and Wooster, they can bring momentum into the UAA tournament. "The NCAAs only take the top eight teams from each region," said Sinder. "We need to win out and have a very good showing at the conference tournament in order to get in."
With his college career coming to an end, that would be the exclamation point on an already exemplary record.
