It’s getting to be about that time of year where the weather is warming up and everyone can get outside and be active again.

So for the ISU Tennis Club, it’s the best time since before the dreadful winter drove them indoors.

“We have an outdoor season in the fall, till Thanksgiving break,” said club president Luke Schmidt, junior in civil engineering.

 “Then we move to indoor tournaments until after Spring Break, when we get back to outdoor, all in preparation for sectionals and nationals.”

The Tennis Club, which includes both men and women, competes with other schools across the country under the United States Tennis Association.

The USTA sanctions tournaments for club teams not at the NCAA level.

With the competition level as high as it is at tournaments, the best players in the club get to go.

The goal for the traveling team ultimately is to make it to nationals.

“If you finish top three in sectionals, the team gets to move on to nationals,” Schmidt said.

“We finished third at sectionals in February, so we get to go.”

The team finished just behind club teams from St. Louis University and the University of Missouri and will be competing in the national tournament April 15-17.

The Tennis Club has no affiliation with the ISU women’s varsity tennis team, but when it goes to tournaments, members compete hard and compete to win.

“We play under what’s called the world team tennis format,” Schmidt said. “Three guys and three girls compete in doubles, mixed doubles and singles.”

The three different types of matches are played at the tournaments, and the entire team does or doesn’t move on together.

The number of games within a match that are won get added up, and the team with the higher number moves on.

While the team hasn’t won a tournament this season, it has been very competitive, finishing third also at the St. Louis Invitational before heading to sectionals.

The club has head-to-head matches over the course of the season, and it usually come out on top.

The head-to-head matches are also where players who aren’t on the traveling team get to showcase their talent and possibly earn a spot on the traveling roster.

“Obviously the best players get to go to tournaments,” Schmidt said.

“So when we get to those [head-to-head matches], they can show us something.”

The club is not necessarily for people who want to compete.

Schmidt and the other club members said it’s for anyone and everyone who wants to play tennis.

“It’s a great way to meet new people,” Schmidt said.

And one couple would likely agree with him.

Steven Nelson, senior in mechanical engineering, and his fiancée Jessica Grobeck met through the Tennis Club four years ago and became engaged in February.

“We actually started dating after a Tennis Club trip to Oklahoma,” Nelson said.

“It was at this same tournament where I decided to ask Jess to marry me two years after we started dating.”

Nelson also said the club meant a lot to the couple, that tennis was a big part of their lives and that he felt compelled to propose there.

“I figured this was the perfect location to ask her because we met through tennis at that same tournament,” Nelson said. “And to do it on the court, where that tournament is held, I thought would just be perfect.”

So if you love tennis and want to be a part of a fun group of people, the members of the Tennis Club want you to give them a try.

“We just want people to know we’re here,” Schmidt said. “It’s not too late to sign up, and any ability is welcome.”