Conqu'ring Heroes: Coach Steinberg Talks Motivation, Postseason Preparation
4/27/2021 8:11:00 AM | Men's Tennis, Features
This week on the Conqu'ring Heroes podcast, Jon Jansen catches up with men's tennis head coach Adam Steinberg about his team's journey from last season's cancellation to now, the growth of the Big Ten in the sport, and the team's preparations for the postseason.
By Brian Boesch
Student-athletes have to balance a busy schedule all year, but rarely does a program's Big Ten Tournament collide with Finals Week in the classroom. The men's tennis program is in that situation, all while coming off a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State in the regular-season finale on April 18. Despite all of this, the team's attitude in preparation for the league tournament has been great.
"They've come back with a vengeance in practice," head coach Adam Steinberg told Jon Jansen on this week's Conqu'ring Heroes podcast. "It's been really great to see. I didn't have to give a big speech or anything."
"They really are motivated."
The motivation has been there for the program ever since the COVID-19 pandemic halted a historic season for the Wolverines. Michigan was the third-ranked team in the nation when the season ended a year ago. The team remained largely intact heading into 2021, which has produced the first division title in Steinberg's tenure and the first win over the Buckeyes since 2001, which came on March 14 in Ann Arbor.
"The guys have done great," Steinberg said. "We returned a very good team from last year, so we had high expectations, but they're surpassing a lot of them. They're doing very well."
Fresh off a 14-3 regular-season mark, this talented group will begin its postseason on Friday (April 30) in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against Minnesota. The Wolverines have won at least one Big Ten Tournament match in each of the last eight events, yet they have not been able to capture the championship during that stretch.
"That's a tournament we haven't made a ton of noise in," Steinberg said. "We always talk about steps forward, and our goal right now is to make a lot of noise there."
Michigan can also utilize this opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume and, potentially, host the first two rounds of the event in Ann Arbor.Â
"Especially missing last year, I think there's this extra excitement to play [the NCAA] Tournament again," Steinberg said. "The goal is to get to Orlando, to the Sweet 16, and play for a national championship. That's why we work so hard, and that's what our goals are."
The postseason journey begins this weekend, just as soon as those Finals are in the books.
