After a 5-4 loss to the Bowdoin Polar Bears in the first round of NCAA Regionals ended a disappointingly short playoff run last spring, the women's tennis team is ready to shake off its ghosts and gear up for 2006. And they have all the tools to do it.
The Jumbos open up the season today against the Smith Pioneers having lost only one major contributor to graduation last spring, returning a senior class with national-caliber potential, and adding some talented rookies for good measure.
Coach Kate Bayard was pleased with the level of intensity exhibited throughout last season, and sees the squad's psychological approach as an area to improve.
"We will need to get mentally tougher out there in the close matches," Bayard said. "Part of the mental toughness is playing smart and choosing when to play it safe and when to attack."
Leading that attack will be returning No. 1 player and All-American senior tri-captain Jen Luten. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Div. III Singles Tournament as a sophomore and was selected as an alternate last season but did not play. According to Bayard, Luten is primed to make another run in her final season.
"Jen has the ability to go all the way in singles," Bayard said. "She is one of the top players in the country in Div. III. She has the biggest forehand in Div. III college tennis, and her backhand is now also a powerful weapon".
Senior tri-captain Kylyn Deary finished last season with an 8-3 singles record at the fourth and fifth positions. Classmate and tri-captain Stephanie Ruley returns her experience from the third singles spot last year, and senior Silvia Schmid and junior Megan Gentzler also bring experience back to the court.
The team loses last year's senior captain Becky Bram, who filled both the No. 1 and No. 2 singles spots with a 14-5 record. Senior Lisa Miller also graduated but spent most of the spring season out with an injury.
A tougher hit to the 2006-07 Jumbos will be the fall-season-ending back injury to sophomore Jessica Knez. A role player during her freshman season, Knez appeared in the second through sixth spots. Her absence will jostle the Jumbos' lineup, although Bayard in confident in her team's ability to adjust.
"When Jessica is healthy, she is one of the top players on the team and in the region, so this is a tough loss for the fall," Bayard said. "But I expect others to step up in both singles and doubles, even though some will be one spot higher in the line-up than anticipated."
Junior Andrea Cenko is studying abroad and will also miss the fall season.
Two freshmen are likely to make an immediate impact on the court. Meghan McCooey and Erica Miller will both likely be starting today and will probably continue to be stable fixtures in the lineup. McCooey, younger sister of men's tennis senior Sean McCooey, takes the court with a familiar name and a chance to make it a family affair.
Bayard sees an opportunity for four-year continuity in the two rookies, and will likely match them up as doubles partners.
"I expect both to be consistently in the starting line-up for singles and doubles," Bayard said of McCooey and Miller. "Meghan has the ability to adjust her game to create opportunities against any type of player. Erica has a big game, and some major weapons off of both sides from the baseline. "
In addition to the freshmen's debut, the team also looks forward to the return of junior Megan Gentzler, who returns from a broken ankle last season.
In fact, Bayard expects the entire squad to start in either at least one singles or doubles match.
Today's match will paint a clear picture of what doubles teams will be successful and how well the team can adopt Bayard's philosophy of aggressive play. As they are played first, winning a majority of the three doubles matches often sets the tone for the rest of the contest.
As a whole, doubles teams fared poorly in the fall portion of the season with a 1-14 record. But some reshuffling of the pairings turned thing around in the spring season when the Jumbos went 10-5.
"Our doubles will continue to be a strength this year, as it was in the second half of the spring season last year," Bayard said. "Doubles will always be at the core of what we focus on since it oftentimes sets the tone for the match."
Last season, Luten and Deary had trouble at the top doubles spot, going 0-5 together. Bayard reshuffled the pairings and paired Luten with Bram, a mid-season switch that led to a 5-1 Bram-Luten combo.
With Bram's graduation, Luten will likely be matched with Deary again, but Bayard is confident in the pair's potential this time around.
"Jen and Kylyn have proven that they can be a top team in the country, and I look forward to seeing what they can do as a team this year," Bayard said.
The Jumbos blanked Smith last year 9-0 in their season opener, and the Pioneers have started off their fall season this year with an 8-1 loss to MIT on Sunday. But Bayard plans on taking each opponent seriously.
"Each year is new," she said. "We want to be focused in the moment. We'll take each match as it comes, one at a time."
