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  • The Doubles Deal: How the Rookie and the Vet Made It Work

    The Doubles Deal: How the Rookie and the Vet Made It Work

    In sports, every generation sees its share of iconic rookie-and-veteran duos who somehow click. For Quinnipiac’s men’s tennis team, that unexpected spark came from graduate student Daniel Velek and first-year standout James Lorenzetti. 
     
    When the fall season kicked off in September, this duo did not record one win together. But by spring, they were the winning combination no one saw coming. 

    What started as an experiment quickly became the team’s strongest asset. This is the story of how chemistry, trust, and timing turned two individuals into a winning force—and how the rookie and the vet found something more than just success on the court.  

    Meet the Duo:

    Daniel Velek: The Veteran

    Daniel Velek isn’t just a player- he’s a leader. 

    Known for being the loudest on the team and having sharp instincts, Velek is the kind of teammate who makes those around him better. While he played only two matches in the fall, his spring season told a different story: a 9-8 record, including a 6-2 showing in MAAC play. Solid, focused, and consistent – the numbers speak for themselves. 

    James Lorenzetti: The Rookie 

    First year. Big energy. Bigger potential. 

    James Lorenzetti entered the program with hunger and hustle, and it shows. He brings a spark to every match and a sense of fearlessness to every point.While his spring record reflects a tough learning curve, his fall season hinted at what’s ahead: a 3-2 in the fall that showcased his grit. 

    He may be new, but James doesn’t play like he’s afraid to fail. Instead, he pushes, adapts, and brings intensity to the court every time. 

    Chemistry on the Court

    This season, James learned one of the most valuable lessons in college athletics: success is doubled down to more than just skill—it’s about partnership.

    For Daniel, that meant learning patience — something James helped bring out. The rookie challenged the vet, and the vet anchored the rookie. It’s not the most expected match, but it’s one that worked — because they both wanted the same thing to win.

    Despite not clicking in the fall, they quickly left that behind. Their focus was the future. They taught each other lessons that deepened their chemistry, on and off the court.

    Their first time meeting? A quiet, almost forgettable moment at a regional tournament at Yale in fall 2023. James was still in highschool while Daniel was already on the team, as he chatted with James’s parents. But nothing came of it immediately.

    Six months later, James arrived on campus. Their coaches circled back- this time putting Daniel and James together for the spring. What started as a second chance turned into the team’s most reliable duo. While other doubles teams continued to shuffle, Daniel and James stayed locked in — the only consistent partnership all season.

    Their on-court chemistry wasn’t built overnight. Long practices shaped it, shared setbacks, and an understanding that their differences made them better together.

    In Sync

    Despite their age gap, Daniel and James share something more important: the same mindset. They don’t just play to win — they play to grow.

    When I asked them who takes losses harder, they both had the same answer.

    Tennis is as much a mental game as it is physical. Unlike team sports where multiple players can share the weight, doubles tennis demands complete alignment between two people, point by point. One miscommunication or dip in focus can cost the match. That’s why mindset matters. Partners need to be synced not only in play style but also in emotion, energy, and resilience.

    It’s not just about being there during the wins — it’s about being there when your partner misses a shot, loses focus, or hits a wall.

    The Final Match

    At the heart of it all is trust. It’s the unspoken agreement that defines every successful doubles team: “I’ve got your back, and you’ve got mine.”

    For Daniel and James, that agreement has become something bigger than tennis. Their chemistry on the court is built not just on strategy, but on support. Not just on wins, but on willingness — to learn, to adjust, and to show up for each other, day after day.

    What started as a coach’s experiment turned into a championhip-winning partnership. And now? It’s a friendship.

    When asked who would survive on a deserted island, this is what they had to say….

  • The Graduate Student Experience

    The Graduate Student Experience

    The ebbs and flows of collegiate athletics.

    By Sam Vetto

    Quinnipiac Rugby at Army Westpoint Photo by Kayley Fasoli of Quinnipiac Athletics

    Every summer, thousands of students put on their best clothes, toss on their gowns, and prepare to walk across the stage. This culmination of years of hard work, perseverance, and procrastination has paid off, for that piece of paper collected at the end of the stage. While the average college student has been working to get to this moment, for student athletes it can be a bit somber. 

    For some this is the end of their sporting careers, for others it is where the road just starts. Some seasons ended in triumph at the tournament, but many more ended in heartbreak along the way. Every athlete’s journeys to graduation are very different, but are driven by the same passion, the love of their sports. 

    Reaching the Goal Line:

    Student athletes schedules balance a solid academic workload, while going to practices, traveling for games, doing media appearances, and the like. While this whirlwind of time seems to blow by, the end catches up faster than you think. Before you know it, it’s April, and you are getting ready to walk across the stage. The process of getting ready for the real world can be difficult for the average student, athletes have the added pressures of this potentially being the final ride. 

    “We have a big group of guys going through the same thing, you know you only have a few more chances, just kinda gotta leave it all out there.” said Johnny Knox, graduate student, and second baseman for the Quinnipiac baseball team.  “It’s the only chance you got”.

    “It definitely had its ups and downs,” Anna Van Dyk mentioned, the graduate rugby player has spent most of her college career at Quinnipiac, even being nominated for the 2025 MA Sorenson award for her performance on the Rugby team. “You are trying not to think of the end. We are primarily in the fall, just taking it day by day, but it’s full of emotions.”

    “It’s definitely been sad towards the end, you try to focus on the day to day but it comes up quickly. We had the tournament so we knew going in, that if we lose, it’s done.” said Noah Altman, graduate student and goalie for the Quinnipiac hockey team. “Over the following weeks, the sadness kinda goes away, and you start to look back fondly instead.”

    “I think it’s gonna be weird not having a set athletic schedule. For 5 years, I had team lifts, practice, hung out with the same guys” said Ryan O’Connell, relief pitcher for the Quinnipiac Baseball team, “Shifting all of that team focus to an individual job will be weird.”

    Learning Experience:

    College is a time for development, in every student’s life. You are honing your craft for work in your potential career, building social circles, and learning more about yourself everyday. The athletes are also developing, all of those, plus their skills as an athlete. 

    “How to take things less seriously.” said Altman, “I was always nervous to make mistakes, in class, at the rink. I just remembered, I’m here for a reason, I just have to keep working hard. You get to enjoy times like this only once.”

    “Definitely having your priorities straight, because there is so much you have to balance, with school, athletics, social life. You learn to focus on what’s important.” O’Connell stated. 

    “To take advantage of every opportunity, because they can be taken away very easily.” said Knox, “If you don’t do it, someone else will.”

    “How to be confident.” Van Dyk said, “as well as confidence about failure. When I came in as freshman, I was timid and shy, but through my time here, I have learned to be more confident and take the failures in stride.”

    Sports Wisdom:

    Over the years of competing, there are many harsh lessons that sports can teach us. Every athlete has gained some experience in their sport that has shaped the way they view the world. Whether it be through motivation, hard work, or consistency, sports brings people together, and teaches us about life, in ways we would never foresee. 

    “In a sport so full of failure, it’s important to focus on the positives, being with your teammates, playing hard. Don’t let the little things pile up” said O’Connell.

    “Being resilient, I started at 13 to 14 which is late” Altman said, “I lived in 7 states to play hockey. I had to grow up quickly, moving out at 16, coming to school knowing I wouldn’t play much, but working hard all the way.”

    “Failure is ok”, Knox stated, “you just need to learn and grow from it.”

    “I was alway bigger and stronger than everyone else. As a woman you always receive comments about being ‘manly’, but rugby has taught me to embrace that. I kick ass at my sport, I can be confident. It helped a lot.”

    Memories:

    Across these years, students build up their resumes with experience, but more importantly they make memories that will last a lifetime. For athletes there are tournaments, championships, but even the little day to day moments that will stick with them. These moments spent in college seem fleeting, but truly last forever in the hearts and minds of those who experienced them.

    “Winning championships, it’s something you work for all year, and finally achieving it?” said Knox, “Those are the moments you cherish.”

    “Our coach threw an entire tray of cookies in the trash after a few of the guys were caught eating them on the bench. We got ripped for that one, but it was pretty funny.” stated O’Connell

    “Last year playing Army, they have battled us my entire time here. They always beat us over the three years we played them.” Van Dyk mentioned, “It was a gritty, dirty game, I busted a lip, on top of everything it seemed like it wasn’t going to go our way. But you battle hard and we managed to come out on top.”

    “Winning the National Championship, in Tampa, Florida, its like 86 degrees out there. We stepped outside and saw all the fans and families who had come through. Winning that and experiencing that, I got to go to the White House, went to Fenway and stood on the foul line, it was sick.” said Altman, who competed on the 2023 Quinnipiac Frozen Four Championship winning team. 

    Looking ahead:

    The decision to continue your sport in some way when you are no longer competing in it, is something many athletes struggle with. Some sports are more difficult to continue participating in post graduation, others are very easy to find opportunities, but it is a choice athletes need to make nonetheless. 

    “I hope to one day work in hockey,” said Altman,”By studying Sports Journalism, I can still work in hockey without playing, but I don’t see myself coaching unless it’s for my kids. I love hockey but it isn’t my end all be all plan.”

    “I see myself coaching at a lower level” O’Connell mentioned, “ Maybe Little League in my town or joining a men’s softball league, just something to get out there.”

    “There are options on the table, but I’m kinda all over the place,” Knox said, “coaching is something I have opportunities for, I may look into it.”

    “I do, I am planning on going back home to Colorado, and coaching my highschool,” said Van Dyk, “I am on the USA 15’s, so I will be competing in Brazil, and they are starting a rugby league in the US called the VER, where they have a team in Denver, I would like to play for them someday.”

    What Won’t Be Missed:

    In the ups and downs of college there are always positive memories of teammates and travel, but it isn’t always the easy coast to play-offs that we dream of. Every sport has drawbacks, especially college sports, sacrifices need to be made to compete at the highest level, and these athletes are no different. They feel the difficulties of these seasons more than anyone else, and there will always be parts that are ok being left in the past.  

    “I won’t miss taking a shot off my face” said Altman, “I have a love-hate relationship with travel, I love traveling with the guys but getting in at 4 AM is rough. Oh and the hockey smell is the worst.”

    “I won’t miss having to rush from practice to class” mentioned O’Connell, “and the long travel days, being on the road, I’m not a fan of it.”

    “Waking up at 4:30 AM for lifts. It was the only time available, I still dread those wake ups.” said Van Dyk.

    “I will not miss conditioning, and early mornings,” said Knox.