After a fall that resulted in multiple individual titles during tournament season, the women’s tennis team is doing everything possible to carry that momentum into the spring match play season.
Head coach Matt Tyler said he believes the women will be able to transfer last semester’s success into wins this season.
“The fall was great for us,” Tyler said. “The team has come back [from winter break] in great shape, really playing well, and I’m excited to see them compete this weekend.”
The women were able to build upon their camaraderie in the fall season, according to Tyler.
“The fall is really our opportunity to come together more so as a team,” Tyler said. “It’s continuing the team bonding and things we have done in the past couple seasons.”
The fall season consisted of various individual tournaments, including the Bradley Invitational where the women secured a pair of individual titles. However, the focus now switches from individual to team results.
“The entire team would echo the fact that the spring [games] ‒ because it’s a team result, are way more fun,” Tyler said. “Even though it’s an individual sport, it’s a team sport too ‒ to compete against other teams head-to-head and to have your teammates pulling for you and that sort of thing. I think it’s a cool environment for us. We love the individual results, but ultimately the goal for us is to get the team championship.”
Tyler said the goal for the team is to finish in the top three in the Missouri Valley Conference, a feat that he said is well within the realm of possibility.
“We’re going to have to certainly play well,” Tyler said. “The [MVC] is a good tennis conference, for sure. But I also think that with the leadership we have and the experience we have coming back in and the addition of Natalia Barbery, who’s a freshman, we’re going to be a very strong team. Not to say we won’t have to play well to get in the top three, but I think that’s something we certainly are capable of.”
The women will have to wait until April 1 to begin MVC competition, but they’ll have plenty of time to tune up for their conference foes. Bradley will play every weekend this semester until the end of April, starting tomorrow against South Dakota State.
Tyler said he acknowledges the longevity of the season and will strategically work in rest days throughout the season to keep the women fresh.
“I try to err on the side of extra time off,” Tyler said. “Letting ourselves recover mentally and physically from tough weekends, especially when we have double-header weekends when we play two matches on the same day. We’ll make sure we’ll allocate enough time off for everyone so that they’re refreshed and ready to come back and compete that next weekend.”
Tomorrow’s match against South Dakota State begins at 10 a.m. at Clubs at River City.
