Georgia Southern men's tennis continued its upward trajectory during head coach Andrew Goodwin's second season at the helm of the Eagles.
The team put together an 18-7 campaign, which was the most amount of wins earned by the Eagles since 2017. The .720 winning percentage was the best for a men's tennis team since the 1988 squad that went 21-8 (.724).
The Sun Belt accolades earned by the Eagles were numerous; three players earned Sun Belt Player of the Week honors during the year and four different players earned All-Conference honors, which is the most amount of All-Conference honors in one season since 2008.
Three separate times during the Spring season, Georgia Southern earned a national team ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), and two players - Dimitris Paliouras and Pol del Castillo - earned individual national rankings from the organization as well.
We sat down with Coach Goodwin to ask him about the season that recently concluded and what lies ahead for the Eagles heading into 2025-26.
This season, your team won 18 matches, which is the most since 2017, and had the best winning percentage since the 1980s. It was also another year earning an ITA National team ranking and another year advancing to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final. What does it mean to have had the Eagles accomplish so much on the court?
"Yeah, it means a lot. There's a lot of pride in it. There's been a lot of great people that have come through this program; a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players, and I think it's been a nice culmination of a lot of good decisions that have been made over the course of many, many years in this program from a leadership standpoint. And I think we're in the right place at the right time. Our guys have done a good job, at least since I've been here, of really maxing out and buying into the team, to what this University stands for and in making sure that we're in a better spot moving forward."
Your senior class went from going 7-11 and just 1-5 in Sun Belt play in their freshman season to winning 48 matches over the last three seasons. Talk a bit about what the senior class has done to raise the profile of Eagle men's tennis in the short time they've been in Statesboro.
"Yeah, I think the first thing they learned early on is, that it's really tough what we are doing. And that there are a lot of really good teams out there. But I don't think they would have had the success that they did without those beginning struggles, because only then do you realize whether you're doing well. And two, I just think it helps them appreciate what they've done. One of the best things about this group is how much the success meant to them and meant to each other. And I think that's really important. When you become successful more and more, you don't become numb to the success. It is hard. And so you need to enjoy it, because I think that's one of the great rewards of the hard work."
It's not easy to change the culture of a program at any point, much less so quickly. Talk about what all went into making such a fundamental change for the Eagles since you've been here?
"I don't think there was much of a change. When I took the job, I knew that these guys had set a great foundation. I knew they were a hungry group and it was more about them just needing guidance. They just needed someone to help them get to the courts and help them to do a lot more than just the bare minimum. They were guys who were ready to run, and they just needed someone to open up certain gates and get out of the way so they could just charge ahead. And I think that was when this team was at their best, when you let them run."
What were some of your proudest moments of the 2024-25 season?
"Yeah, there were a few. I mean, one is just that I'm a big day-to-day guy and I loved seeing our practices, and how the guys evolved into relentless competitors was great. I loved moments of the season because of our schedule, we play a lot of the same guys. Last year, in the Spring of 2024, we had guys step up and maybe they weren't ready for that situation, but it's what it was called for. And then this year, they were put into those situations consistently, especially guys like Laurent [Julia Calac] and Matt Mitchell who had to step up this year and they just looked way more confident. Both those guys, especially, played a lot of guys that took 'em out last Spring and they showed that, with a year's worth of long-term work, they made the jump. Those are some of my proudest moments, seeing the guys come through. Whether it's Matt after not being able to play in the conference tournament last year, clinching two huge doubles points and our first round win. Unbelievable. And guys like Laurent devloping in a consistent, dependable player for our team, whether it be singles or doubles. I saw a lot of growth, a lot of maturity from the guys and that's what I'm the most proud of."
What do you think the Sun Belt will look like next season, as a whole?
"Next year, we'll have the option of who we want to schedule in the conference. I think it's really important to be playing our conference teams, but it also gives us flexibility as a program to schedule who's going to help us become an elite program on a national level. And that's how I intend to take the direction of this program. So we're really excited. We're going to keep playing the best of the best and we can't wait for it. The Sun Belt is a very strong conference and we're ready to get right back to work."
Anything else you would like to add?
"I'm just really thankful for the group that we had, thankful for the people that have come before us, and thankful for the leadership here that's given us the platform to be more and more successful. I think again, the guys learned that whether you're successful or not, the sun keeps coming up. We're going to have to keep doing the same things, and it comes down to the decision of what kind of standard you're going to have for yourself in order to get it done. These guys have put the program in a better spot, I couldn't be more proud of them, and we're ready to keep pushing it forward. Things are going to look a little different next year, but like every elite program has to go through when a class leaves, because they've made it elite, because they've had such a good impact. It's going to feel a lot more of a blow than before, but it's part of the price of becoming a better program and we're excited to move forward."