It’s hard to juggle academics and a Division I sport. St. Bonaventure University freshman Joe Blakeley is taking on that challenge; however, with two sports.
Blakeley is currently on the men’s cross-country team and will be switching over to the men’s tennis team in the fall. He is the only dual-sport athlete on campus.
Since tennis and cross-country are spread apart in the fall and spring, he found the seasons manageable with academics.
“I wanted to go to American University and I wanted to go Division I,” said Blakeley. “My main priority was tennis to start off with, but I always ran in high school. Coach Macfarlane saw the impact I could have on the team. Cross-country is in the fall and tennis is in the spring so it could work out, and I can mix the workouts up. I felt like it was achievable while doing academics.”
It felt like home when he traveled from his hometown of Bath, England, to visit Bonaventure’s campus last March. The transition has been fine, even though the hot September weather has been toughest thing to manage, according Blakeley. In England, the weather is much cooler.
“I chose Bonaventure because I wanted a small school and I was looking in New York. The campus felt really welcoming,” said Blakeley. “I’ve had to get used to the bus rides. At home, I could travel across the country in eight hours. I can never fall asleep on the bus.”
The NCAA states that athletes cannot practice for more than 20 hours per week. Blakeley has been switching back and forth from cross-country and tennis, but practicing on his own for tennis so he does not break NCAA rules.
“At the moment, I’m just playing tennis on the weekends and maybe on my own a little bit throughout the week. If I go to the tennis practices, those count as my hours for the week. If I do it on my own it doesn’t count,” said Blakeley. “Come spring, I’ll just be playing tennis because they have loads of fixtures in the spring.”
Blakeley expects the benefits of cross-country’s rigorous training to pay off during his upcoming tennis season.
“The advantage of cross-country is that we run a lot so we get super fit,” said Blakely. “For tennis, you need a lot of strength so right now I feel like I’m lacking strength a bit. Obviously, I’m not playing a lot of tennis, but I’m getting in shape and improving.”
With the halfway point approaching for the cross-country season, Blakeley reflected on his goals for the rest of the season as well as his hopes for the upcoming tennis season.
“I want to run at A10’s for cross-country and run more PR’s,” said Blakeley. “For tennis, I want to get a good wins-to-losses ratio in my fixtures, see how far we get at A10’s and how much we’ll progress throughout the season.”
The men’s cross-country team will be traveling to the Gettysburg Invitational in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Oct. 14.
odonneke16@bonaventure.edu
