Hillsdale’s women’s tennis team opened their first match of the season against Wayne State University, losing 1-8.
Although not victorious, Hillsdale College’s tennis head coach Nikki Walbright remains confident in the team’s ability to maintain a high level of competition within their conference.
“[Wayne State is] tough competition and very high in the conference standings,” Walbright said. “It is tough to start out against this type of competition but the girls did well rising to the occasion, especially in doubles.”
With a whopping four of the 10 team members being freshmen, Walbright said that nerves at their first game were high.
“I think our nerves definitely affected our play,” sophomore Lindsay Peirce said. “We obviously transferred our level of intensity from practice to the match, [but it] just wasn’t enough to beat them.”
However, despite nervousness, Hillsdale’s third double players freshman Dana Buck and sophomore Rachel Blaauw won their match 8-6.
“Third doubles had a great match and really dug out our only win for the day. [They] really worked together and didn’t get mentally down at all during their match,” Walbright said. “It was a good start to the season for them.”
Team players said they worked to maintain a high level of support and encouragement for their team and to keep team morale positive.
“[Tennis] is so much a team sport but yet you play individual matches,” Peirce said. “Cheering helps us all remember during our matches what we are playing for.”
Along with their display of mental toughness and encouragement during the match, Buck said, they must continue to play “scrappy.”
“Our team is known in the conference as being scrappy,” Buck said. “You don’t always think about scrappy as having the best connotation, but in tennis it just means that we will fight and give it our all until the last ball.”
With a three-match away weekend against Northwood, Ferris State, and
Grand Valley State beginning this Friday, the team looks forward to continuing to improve and working towards their goals as they progress further into the season.
“As always, we have excellent sportsmanship and a good fighting attitude,” Walbright said. “The girls really fought till the end and overall were able to realize what they need to work on for our next matches.”
