Hope College

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Pictured, Charlie Schmude and Cooper Nugent

Men's Tennis 2/5/2025 1:36:00 PM Alan Babbitt

2025 Hope College Men's Tennis Season Preview

The Hope College men's tennis team has set the foundation for success on the court during the spring portion of the 2025 season.

Led by co-captains Austin Becksvoort and Jonathan Eggleston, the Flying Dutchmen are primed to reach for ambitious goals in the competitive areas of NCAA Division III and MIAA tennis, head coach Austin Hunt said. Hope is determined to improve on last season's 10-11 record that included a fourth-place 4-3 mark in MIAA matches.

"Off of the court, the players that make up this program are tasked to embody three major tasks," Hunt said. "First is to bring an infectious, positive and progressive energy to the team on a daily basis. Second is to push ourselves to be as physically, mentally and emotionally as tough as possible when competing for Hope College. Third, we task them to be as consistent in our work ethic as possible in order to achieve our goals.

"The group we have put in place is working hard and has cornerstone pieces in the form of our two senior captains, Austin and Jonathan, who have emulated these attitudes for four years. We're excited to watch this team mold and form as the season progresses."

Roster

Hope's roster of 14 features three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and five freshmen.

The Flying Dutchmen bring back two of their three All-MIAA selections from last season: sophomores Rylan Doden (Fort Wayne, Indiana / Blackhawk Christian HS) and Paul Schneider (Fishers, Indiana / Hamilton Southeastern).

Charlie Schmude (Traverse City, Michigan / St. Francis) joins Becksvoort (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) and Eggleston (Yuseong Gu, Daejeon, South Korea / Taejon Christian International School) in Hope's senior class.

Hunter Napieralski (Chelsea, Michigan / Chelsea) is a returning junior for the Flying Dutchmen.

The sophomore class also includes Ned Curley (Plymouth, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central), Alec Maynard (Northville, Michigan / Detroit Catholic Central) and Cooper Nugent (Rochester Hills, Michigan / Rochester Adams).

The freshman class brings to the court Elliot Dozeman (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa), Hank Mast (Kansas City, Missouri / Liberty), Karsten Patel (Birmingham, Michigan / Birmingham Seaholm), Aiden Sin (Holland, Michigan / Holland) and Blake Smith (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan / Birmingham Seaholm).

"Our men's program continues to build and looks incredibly strong heading into our spring season," Hunt said. "We were very fortunate to bring in six new players, freshmen, as well as transfer student-athletes, who are going to make our roster extremely deep and strong."

Coaching Staff

Head coach: Austin Hunt, 4th season
Assistant coach: Mark Hunt

Schedule

The Flying Dutchmen begin their spring season on Friday, Feb. 7, at home vs. NCAA Division II Davenport University at DeWitt Tennis Center.

Hope will play 11 non-league matches, including five during the annual spring break trip on Monday-Friday, March 17-21, at the United States Tennis Association Training Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The MIAA opener is Tuesday, March 25, at 4 p.m. at home against Alma College at the VandePoel-Heeringa Stadium Courts.

"The goals for our men's program this season include competing for the MIAA Championship at season's end, reaching the second round at the NCAA National Tournament, and striving to break into the Top 40 programs in NCAA Division III," Hunt said. "Historically, our men's program has been right on the cusp of achieving these milestones, and we feel extremely optimistic that we have everything we need to get the job done this year."

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Players Mentioned

Austin Becksvoort: Senior; Chemistry - ACS and Engineering

Rylan Doden: Sophomore

Jonathan Eggleston: Senior; Public Acct/Business

Hunter Napieralski: Junior; Biology

Cooper Nugent: Sophomore; German

Charlie Schmude: Senior; Accounting/Business

Paul Schneider: Sophomore

Ned Curley: Sophomore

Elliot Dozeman: Freshman

Karsten Patel: Freshman

Players Mentioned

Austin Becksvoort
: Senior; Chemistry - ACS and Engineering

Rylan Doden
: Sophomore

Jonathan Eggleston
: Senior; Public Acct/Business

Hunter Napieralski
: Junior; Biology

Cooper Nugent
: Sophomore; German

Charlie Schmude
: Senior; Accounting/Business

Paul Schneider
: Sophomore

Ned Curley
: Sophomore

Elliot Dozeman
: Freshman

Karsten Patel
: Freshman