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Printer-Friendly ModeYoung team still trying to adjust to college level
TENNIS
October 26, 2009 —
When a team begins a season 0-6, one could understand if the team would have a hard time staying motivated for the remainder of the season.
For the SVSU women’s tennis team, that wasn’t the case.
After starting off the season with six consecutive losses, the team came out motivated to get its first win of the season against Tiffin.
That motivation propelled them to do just that as they defeated the Dragons 8-1.
While that would turn out to be the only win of the season for the Cardinals, it was a season in which progress was made. With seven freshmen on the team, it was about as much as you could ask for.
“Going into the Tiffin match, we were full of confidence,” junior Cortney Heileman said. “We knew Tiffin was down some players due to academics and injuries, which we felt gave us an advantage from the start. We didn’t just go through the motions, we left it all on the court and came out with the win.”
The team finished the season a disappointing 1-8, although Heileman knew the team would go through some growing pains with so many young players.
“It was a bit challenging to get them [freshmen] to adjust to the collegiate level and prepare them to meet our high standard of attitude, play and work ethic,” Heileman said. “They were a change to our team, simply because of how many there were, but it was fun bringing everyone together to try our hardest and enjoy the game.”
The Cardinals failed to qualify for the GLIAC tournament, which was one of their goals at the beginning of the season. Heileman believes the team learned some valuable lessons throughout the fall.
“I think that with the experience from this past season, the younger players will know what to expect and it won’t be such a shock to them when it comes time to perform in matches and put in the work for conditioning,” Heileman said.
While many of the freshmen had trouble making the transition from high school to college, it was a freshman that led the team in individual wins.
Yunjiao Shangguan picked up four individual wins on the season, tops on the team. The three wins she picked up on her doubles team was also tied for the most on the team.
After Shangguan won her first match of the season, she went on a five-match losing streak although finished out the season with three consecutive wins. Heading into the spring season, Heileman believes the team will be much more competitive.
“We’re still going to be a very young team that has a lot to learn, although there’s no doubt we should be a much improved team from this season,” Heileman said.
Heileman was second on the team in terms of individual wins, finishing one behind Shangguan with three.
The lone senior on the team, Jessica Stone, finished the fall season with two individual wins.
SVSU started off the season with three of its first four matches on the road, including upper echelon teams Northwood and Michigan Tech.
The Cardinals were shut out by Michigan Tech, 9-0, before dropping an 8-1 decision to Northwood.
Northwood finished the season 12-0 and in first place in the GLIAC. Michigan Tech finished 9-3 overall, good enough for third.
Even though it was an admittedly tough season for the young team, Heileman believes members will come out in the spring season ready to roll.
“Even though it was a difficult and challenging season for us, we kept our heads held high and worked through the hard times. We are working hard in preparation for the spring season.”