While Bradley students headed home for Fall Break, the Bradley women’s tennis team geared up for their biggest tournament of their new season. The Braves had a handful of girls finish in the top five at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Championships in Evansville, Indiana.
The three day tournament kicked off on Saturday as sophomore Malini Wijesinghe lead the Braves charge with two singles victories. The momentum continued as her teammates junior Alexa Brandt, junior Aimme Manfredo and senior Ashley Thai each earned fifth place finishes on Sunday.
Head coach Matt Tyler commented on his team’s performance, “I think Saturday we played a little tight. We put some pressure on ourselves…So there was some performance anxiety that we were able to shake off for the second day.”
On Monday, sophomore Julie Martin took home third place along with senior Ariel Dechter and Manfredo in doubles. Wijesinghe came up short in her finals match, while freshman, Natalie Barbery fell short in her third place match.
Bradley’s performances both individual and doubles, give Coach Tyler confidence about his group going forwards.
“We have a lot of talent on this team, we really do,” Tyler said. Our girls can play against anybody in the conference,”
The Braves are back in action on October 20th at the ITA Regionals in Rockford, IL. This will be the last match for Bradley before semester’s end. Coach Tyler is hoping that his players will continue to work hard.
“I’m excited; we certainly have another gear,” Tyler said. “We have another level of tennis I know were capable of playing … We can really do some outstanding things this season.”
Early success this season certainly bodes well for the Braves. However, Tyler said it’s going to take hard work and dedication for this team to take home the MVC championship in the spring.
