FARMVILLE, Va. – Longwood University junior men’s tennis standout Steed Johnson has been named the Longwood Male
ARMS Software Athlete of the Week. Johnson split his matches last week, as the Lancers fell to VCU, 5-0, before defeating Morgan State, 4-1, on February 1. He was defeated 6-1, 6-2 by VCU’s Alexis Huegas in the No. 1 spot, but rallied later in the day to pick up a pivotal 6-3, 6-2 victory against Morgan State’s Jannick Tash at No. 3. Johnson is 2-2 in singles action this spring, while holding a 7-10 overall singles record in 2013-14.
Question and Answer Session with Steed Johnson and Travis Lyles
TL: How did it feel to get your first team win against Morgan State this past weekend?
SJ: It was pretty great. They are a solid team, so it is definitely a confidence booster for us and I think we will keep moving forward from there.
TL: You are a team captain this year. How does it feel to lead your team in that role?
SJ: It’s a big transition for me. It is fun to be able to lead such an easygoing group of guys. They work hard, so it makes my job easy.
TL: How does it feel to be an upperclassman now?
SJ: Weird. Honestly, I feel like I just came in freshman year. But, now there is a lot more responsibility and I am kind of one of the guys that is looked up to.
TL: What is a team goal for this season?
SJ: Well, we have overcome a lot of adversity losing two of our top six starters. So I think our goal coming in was just to build this year, and get better and better.
TL: Who is your favorite music artist?
SJ: This year I’ve been into TimeFlies Tuesday. One of my roommates got me into them and they just have really catchy songs and remixes.
TL: Are you a sports fan outside of playing tennis?
SJ: I watch a lot of college basketball, and I am a Broncos fan, so the Super Bowl was not too great this past weekend.
TL: Are you planning on watching the 2014 Winter Olympics?
SJ: We’ll see. My favorite event is the ski jump, so definitely that.
TL: If you could play any other sport collegiately, what would it be?
SJ: Definitely soccer, I used to play in middle school and I was the team captain. Plus, I don’t mind running for long periods of time.
TL: If you could pick one teammate to switch places with for a day, who would it be?
SJ: Bharani Sankar, because he is always scheming.
TL: If you could point out one athlete on this campus that you think is a good role model for other student-athletes, who would it be?
SJ: It would be a tie between Lucas Woodhouse and Edward Becker. Lucas because he came in as a freshman and has grown so much to become a leader and role model on the basketball team. Then Eddie just purely because of his attitude and always being upbeat.
TL: Besides playing tennis, what was another reason that you came to Longwood?
SJ: I love the school and really liked the team. We also have a great communications department, which is what I knew I wanted to major in.
