Women’s Tennis Still Looking for Consistency

27

Author: Soo Jin Kim

The women’s tennis team at Occidental College is out to win this season with hard work and great teamwork. So far, the team has beaten Cal Tech and Whittier, but lost to Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer in conference play. However, this has not stunted the team’s determination to do well.

“We will probably have a chance to face those two teams again in the SCIAC finals at the end of the season, so I think we’ll be ready with fewer nerves to count into the equation,” Isabelle Ying (sophomore) said. “We definitely have a shot at third place instead of fourth [like] last year.”

Head Women’s Tennis Coach and Tennis Coordinator Linda Park has the girls focusing on consistency, power and a positive mentality. The girls train every day with some practices lasting more than an hour and a half. Training includes on-court practices with team, gym training, team conditioning and additional practices.

“Our team goal is to come out on top when we play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Cal Lutheran. We are really shooting for that 3rd spot behind Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer,” Park said.

“Our biggest weakness at this point is that we are still building chemistry within our doubles teams,” Jennifer Wahba (senior) said. “It takes a bit of getting used to in playing with a new partner, but we are adjusting quickly and are already in the process of overcoming this hurdle.”

The Tigers looked to address this weakness over Oxy’s Spring Break, where they faced off against four non-conference opponents. While they lost three of these matches, the doubles play was much improved for the most part. Wahba and doubles partner Krishnaveni Subbiah (first-year) even took the 15th ranked University of Washington in Saint Louis’ number one doubles team to a tie breaker before falling 9-8.

With improved doubles play the Tigers are focusing on the little things that can help them win.

“I think the team’s biggest weakness is depending on people to be on time to both practices and matches,” Ying said. “It is very easy to disrupt the entire feel of practices if one person is late or does not have the right attitude on the court. Working together as a team definitely depends a lot on trust.”

Still, Wahba and Ying look favorably on the future. Wahba maintains that the main goals for the team are to work hard and remain positive, which she hopes the team can accomplish through “lots of hard work, hitting lots of balls, and always, always, always moving our feet.”

Ying also spoke favorably on the team’s bond this year and remarked, “I think we definitely get along a lot better [this year] than we did last year.”

Park praised the team’s strengths, saying that the team spirit and positive attitudes the girls have show “a strong potential to be a top 3 SCIAC team.” Park also mentioned Krishnaveni Subbiah (first-year), Taylor Kaplan (senior), Marissa Cassman (junior) as players to looking out for this year.

Though the team has struggled at times, the players are continuing to improve themselves with each new game. “We expect to play at a much higher intensity in future matches, as we are collectively becoming stronger and better competitors with each new match,” Wahba said.

The Tigers will have the opportunity to do so in the near future as they continue to go up against quality non-conference competition in the coming weeks. While their ultimate goal is to win their remaining SCIAC games, the team recognizes the importance of improving against these non-conference opponents in order to be ready to compete against their remaining SCIAC foes.

After beating Westmont College this past Sunday 6-3, the Tigers will be looking to keep the winning streak alive when they take on Sewanee College on Wednesday, March 18 and then face off against Lewis & Clark on Sunday, March 22.

This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.

Loading

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here