The Bradley women’s tennis team had a tough couple of opening matches this past weekend, but head coach Matt Tyler remained optimistic about his team.
Bradley played against two tough opponents: Missouri and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. The team knew the first match against Missouri was going to pose a difficult challenge.
“The first match we did not play as well as I think we can, but I chalk that up to first match nerves,” Tyler said.
Tyler also said team culture and the way players treat each other and the coaches is an important factor that comes into play on this team.
The day after the team’s opening loss to Missouri, they suffered a similar fate to SIUE. However, Tyler said the match was closer than what was on paper.
“We lost 6-1, but that score is a little deceiving because our individual matches were very close,” he said.
Tyler said that he expects a high work ethic from his team and “that the girls give 100 percent effort day in and day out.”
According to Tyler, Alejandra de Lasa, a sophomore transfer student from VCU, is expected to be a potential breakout player in the spring. In her opening matches, Tyler said De Lasa really well and competed at a high level against SIUE.
Tyler also high praise for freshman Malini Wijesinghe.
“She was a bright spot for us this past weekend getting the only win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville,” he said. “She will improve by leaps and bounds this season, and I am happy for her to get her first duel match win.”
While the team lost both of its weekend matches, Tyler said he sees a few positives in losing.
“Losing is not a bad thing as long as you learn from your loss and change things going forward,” Tyler said.
