After receiving many accolades last season, Andrew Amor knows he still has room to improve in order to get to where he wants to be.

Any team that has achieved greatness has a player who motivates his teammates, a player who can spark fight in his teammates when they are down, a player who fights for every point with emotion and heart and gives it their all, leaving everything they have on the court.

For the American River College men’s tennis team, that player is sophomore Andrew Amor, who has helped lead the NorCal ranked No. 2 Beavers to a 7-0 start in the 2013 season. Amor is currently ranked No. 7 in the NorCal standings, and No. 2 in doubles with his partner, Adam Duong.

“In the team environment, he is the glue that holds our team together,” tennis coach Bo Jabery-Madison said. “He’s really taken that leadership role to the next level.”

His leadership is felt throughout the matches. You can often hear Amor and the other players shouting encouraging words and phrases to their fellow teammates in between points.

Jabery-Madison loves Amor’s work ethic, but he hopes that he will be able to continue his intensity during each set throughout the season.

“He tends to bring more energy during big moments, which is a good thing,” Jabery-Madison said. “My hope for him is to maintain that energy throughout the whole entire course of the match.”

He finished the 2012 season ranked No. 26 in the state, but knew he needed to improve to be more of a threat, so he trained over summer with Jabery-Madison and lost 20 pounds.

“I still have room to improve, and Bo is going to help me get where I need to be,” Amor said.

His doubles partner, Duong, feels that Amor has helped his game in a way that will be beneficial to his growth.

“He’s kept me really positive,” Duong said. “There’s times when I just don’t get something in practice. He’s helped me improve with certain moves.”

When he’s not playing tennis or helping teammates, Amor likes spending time with his girlfriend, and, almost every summer since he was little, you can often find him in Hawaii visiting his grandfather. His love for tennis derives from his father and grandfather, who both participated in the sport. He credits his grandfather, who helped him during his summer visits to Hawaii, with helping him obtain success on the court.

“My grandpa, he’s always taught me tennis throughout my whole life and I’ve seen him play,” Amor said. “I’ve always wanted to be just like him.”

Amor doesn’t have an ideal University in mind yet, but he hopes to play at a division one school in Calif. If tennis doesn’t work out, he would like to pursue a degree in kinesiology to become a physical therapist.

Amor may be the type to let his tennis skills do the talking on the court, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to be flashy.

“I like living in the moment and getting the crowd into the match and hitting exciting shots,” Amor said.