Invitational in September. Manfredo only lost one singles match during the fall season. Photo by Anna Foley.
Last year, Bradley women’s tennis shook off two dismal decades when they won two conference games, 11 total games and had Ariel Dechter earn all-conference honors.
This upcoming spring season, head coach Matt Tyler is looking to field the best women’s tennis team Bradley has seen.
However, Tyler said the pressure to improve on, or even recreate, last season’s success is nonexistent.
“Last year was a tremendous year for us, obviously,” Tyler said. “But I think we can still build on the things we did last year. It was a great step forward, but I really think we’re going to take another jump this year.”
The Braves will get to enjoy their winter break, but at the same time the players will have to keep in shape.
“Girls are doing training on their own,” Tyler said. “Everything’s voluntary workouts and stuff. They’ll go home for the Christmas break and train on their own a lot.”
The Braves are coming off a fall in which they captured two doubles flight championships, one singles flight championship and two individial Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) championships, and optimism is abound on the tennis courts leading into the spring.
While Tyler raved about the talent his team boasts, he pointed to sophomores Alejandra de Lasa and Aimee Manfredo, who had successful fall seasons, as potential breakout players in the spring.
“[De Lasa] is really chomping at the bit to get back into dual match format, she hasn’t played a dual match since January of last year,” Tyler said. “Aimee Manfredo only lost one singles match all fall long, so hopefully she can continue that momentum and rhythym into the spring season she’s had.”
According to Tyler, another player who has the potential to produce on the courts is sophomore Alexa Brandt, who wasn’t as fortunate as Manfredo or de Lasa.
“Alexa strugged a bit this fall, but I know she’s going to get it back together,” Tyler said.
Brandt said coming into the spring season, consistency is key for the team, which finished 11-13 last spring.
“My serve needs to be better,” Brandt said. “When you have a good serve it creates better points.”
While the Braves are focused on improving, Tyler said the MVC also improved competition for the team.
But the Braves didn’t have to wait until April to get a glimpse at what the Valley has to offer.
“We’re fortunate that we get to play the Missouri Valley in the individual tournament in our fall season,” Tyler said. “So we get a pretty good look at the teams we go up against in the Valley.”
Specifically, the Braves got a good peek at what the conference has to offer at the MVC Individial Championships in early October.
Manfredo and the doubles duo Ariel Dechter and Irinka Toidze won the MVC Individual Championships, proving the Braves can put up a fight against the top of the conference.
“Wichita’s going to be a really good team, as they always are, as well as Drake,” Tyler said. “I see us really competing with anyone in the Valley … The Valley’s really gotten a lot better, all the way around, ourselves included. We’ve got to play well in every single one of those matches.”
With Valley play beginning in April, Tyler’s team can’t afford to slack, as they play a nonconference schedule that includes the likes of power five teams Missouri and Iowa.
Still, Tyler said he has the utmost confidence his team has the talent to win come spring time.
“[We] play Mizzou right off the bat, which is going to be a tall order for us,” he said. “I’m excited to see what we can do. If we play the kind of tennis that I know we’re capable of playing, then that’s certainly a match I think we can win.”
