Tennis team bounces back quickly
After hanging tough with Div. I UW-Green Bay, Blugolds dominate Div. III competitors
Claudia Lozano
Issue date: 9/22/08 Section: Sports
At Friday's meet, the women's tennis team fell 5-2 to UW-Green Bay, an NCAA Division I team.
Juniors Brenna McCormick and Gina Dahl were the Blugolds who captured both points at their single matches, winning them in straight sets. Dahl won first place with a 6-3, 6-2 match. The third position belonged to McCormick with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
Coach Craig Monson said this year the team improved its game, as last year the Blugolds were only able to score one point against the Phoenix as they lost 6-1.
"I don't think anything went wrong," Monson said. "(Green Bay) has good players - they have scholarship players, they are a division above us and they play pretty well. They're just a better team than us."
Junior Courtney Lynne said playing a Division I team is really fun because players can up their level of competitiveness.
"They hit harder, hit faster - it really speeds things up," she said. "Everybody plays with nothing to lose, we came out with a few wins … nothing negative about it, everyone gets so excited and there's a really positive energy going."
The women then showed they can put the past behind them and focused on their next challenge, which was on Saturday against St. Norbert College and Lawrence University.
Lynne said the team didn't take the previous loss too hard.
"It was a good confidence booster," she said. "It helped our overall record. We were trying different line ups, we were switching things around, people were playing in different positions, everybody got different partners … we still managed to pull if off, so it shows that our team is very versatile."
Monson echoed Lynne's thought and said the team played the best tennis they've played this year.
"I think we finally found our stride," he said. "We played crisper, cleaner tennis."
On both occasions the Blugolds only allowed their opponents to score once, giving them a final score of 8-1.
While playing St. Norbert and Lawrence, the Blugolds took all three positions as duo juniors Lynne and Dahl earned first place with an 8-6 and an 8-2 score in doubles, respectively.
Juniors Brenna McCormick and Gina Dahl were the Blugolds who captured both points at their single matches, winning them in straight sets. Dahl won first place with a 6-3, 6-2 match. The third position belonged to McCormick with a score of 6-2, 6-4.
Coach Craig Monson said this year the team improved its game, as last year the Blugolds were only able to score one point against the Phoenix as they lost 6-1.
"I don't think anything went wrong," Monson said. "(Green Bay) has good players - they have scholarship players, they are a division above us and they play pretty well. They're just a better team than us."
Junior Courtney Lynne said playing a Division I team is really fun because players can up their level of competitiveness.
"They hit harder, hit faster - it really speeds things up," she said. "Everybody plays with nothing to lose, we came out with a few wins … nothing negative about it, everyone gets so excited and there's a really positive energy going."
The women then showed they can put the past behind them and focused on their next challenge, which was on Saturday against St. Norbert College and Lawrence University.
Lynne said the team didn't take the previous loss too hard.
"It was a good confidence booster," she said. "It helped our overall record. We were trying different line ups, we were switching things around, people were playing in different positions, everybody got different partners … we still managed to pull if off, so it shows that our team is very versatile."
Monson echoed Lynne's thought and said the team played the best tennis they've played this year.
"I think we finally found our stride," he said. "We played crisper, cleaner tennis."
On both occasions the Blugolds only allowed their opponents to score once, giving them a final score of 8-1.
While playing St. Norbert and Lawrence, the Blugolds took all three positions as duo juniors Lynne and Dahl earned first place with an 8-6 and an 8-2 score in doubles, respectively.
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