WASHINGTON (April 26, 2023) - After a season of ups and downs for both the Howard University men's and women's tennis teams, the squads now have their gazes firmly fixated on making noise at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Tournament, bringing back those conference tournament trophies while earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
 
Teams often find a theme for themselves throughout the season. Oftentimes those themes are related to grinding, work ethic, being champions and things of that nature. This year; however, the teams had the themes of always "being dangerous" as well as supporting one another, respectively.
 
"On the men's side, the idea was to always stay dangerous," said Howard Director of Tennis Nicholas Askew, who is in his third year at the helm. "Even when we may have gone into a match against a team that might be slightly better, the idea was to stay dangerous because if we stay dangerous then we have a chance against anybody."
 
With a men's team consisting of just six players and a women's team that dealt with injuries that caused them to default on some match points, both teams had to dig deep and display an immense amount of grit and comradery to succeed. Despite the trials and tribulations, both teams finished fourth in the conference, securing their first-round matchups against the fifth-ranked teams in the MEAC (Norfolk State men and Morgan State women).
 
"For the women's side, the theme was support," Askew continued. "Seeing them support each other through a really tough schedule was great. Our coaching staff and I are really happy seeing them support one another and be vocal, laying out what each person was accountable for before each match."
 
This season was also one of great change for the coaching staff.
 
In January, mid-season, assistant coach Jessica Josiah and associate head coach Zach Tobias both joined Askew's staff for their first years coaching for a university. It was a brand-new experience for the entire crew.
 
For Josiah, her signing on to coach meant a return to her old stomping grounds where she represented the Bison tennis program.
 
A 2017 HU graduate, Josiah played number-one singles and doubles and earned the Team Rookie of the Year award her freshman year and the MVP award her senior year. Josiah described her homecoming as an exciting experience.
 
"There's nothing like carrying that Howard pride, that Bison pride," said Josiah. "You carry it with you everywhere you go. It is a special place to have come through and not many people can say they have had this experience. To be able to come back after being a student-athlete myself, I was pumped. I looked forward to bringing my collegiate expertise, my own experience to the program and these student-athletes."
 
Askew, a former two-sport student-athlete and recent inducted into the Howard Athletics Hall of Fame, understands the dynamics of coming back to your alma mater and coaching the next generation of Bison.
 
"It's a really cool dynamic to see a player cross the line and go to the coaching side," Askew stated. "Coach Jessica [Josiah] has been able to establish her mark as a coach and move the program forward. It's really cool to see because I get to step back and just observe and again support her and Coach Zach [Tobias] in the best way I possibly can."
 
Tobias, a fellow former student-athlete and first-year coach for Howard, shared many of the same sentiments about coming into coach at Howard.
 
"It's been a whirlwind," said Tobias. "Super exciting, but also super challenging. I came in during the season and we went right to work, but it has been fun. I've learned a ton; I'm just loving it."
 
Tobias attended Ursinus College and Temple University, where he captained the tennis team, before going into mentoring, coaching and teaching young students of the game in the DMV, and eventually ending up at HU.
 
"The other coaches are extremely supportive," Tobias continued. "Coach Askew has been super supportive, putting Coach Jessica and I in great positions. I couldn't ask for a better start."
 
As they looked forward to their matches ahead, the coaches all expressed the same feelings about facing teams they defeated during the regular season: Take the game on with confidence but understand that each team can be dangerous on their day.
 
"Going into conference championships, we have to maintain that level of dangerous and support because knowing that we just beat them doesn't guarantee us wins," Askew expressed.
 
Throughout the season, the trio have seen success on and off the court, including 11 student-athletes being named to the MEAC All-Academic Team and four Bison earning MEAC Weekly Honors.
 
Both teams will travel to Cary, North Carolina, to play their first-round matchups Thursday, April 27. The women's team will face No. 5 Morgan State at 8 a.m. and the men's team take on No. 5 Norfolk State at 2 p.m.

Derek W. Bryant, Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations & Sports Information, and Kira Green, Marketing Major, c/o '23, contributed to this story.
 
For more information, visit the Bison Athletics website at www.HUBison.com.