Junior Courtney Rittel stands ready at the net last season. Courtesy | Anthony Lupi

 

The Hillsdale women’s tennis team is down to eight players this year. 

Head coach Liam Fraboulet said he is enthusiastic about the new team dynamic, and he sees the decrease in size from 11 players last year as a potential advantage. 

“We have only one freshman this year, and her name is Ane. We lost four seniors from last year,” Fraboulet said. “It’s great because we have a good size roster now, which makes it easier to run practices and manage matches.” 

Fraboulet said he is excited to see how the team performs this season.

“There are a lot of senior girls who are going to have their last chance to compete and I think they’re excited to go out there and fight,” Fraboulet said. 

Important dates on the calendar include a home tournament Sept. 8-9, and competing in the ITA Midwest Regionals in Indianapolis the following weekend — an opportunity for individual players to qualify for nationals.

With freshman Ane Dannhauser joining the team, Fraboulet said the fall season will be crucial for team development.

“You don’t have as much stress in the fall as you would have in the spring, so for a freshman like Ane, it’s a great way to start,” he said. “In college, tennis is much more of a team thing.”

Dannhauser said she is excited to be part of the team. 

“I can’t wait to see what we achieve this season,” she said. 

Junior Courtney Rittel said she also looks forward to the upcoming season. 

“It is so nice to be back on the court,” Rittel said. “We are super excited for our first match in only two short weeks.”

Sophomore Isabella Spinazze said the new team dynamic offers unique opportunities for growth and success. 

“We only have eight girls this year, which will be a great opportunity for us to step up, get good playing time, and really focus on keeping ourselves healthy both physically and mentally,” Spinazze said. 

Spinazze said Dannhauser is hard working and impressive, both on and off the court.

“It’s coming up quickly, it’s packed, and the fall season usually goes by pretty fast,” Fraboulet said. “It’s a good chance for the whole team to play as many matches as we can, get into a rhythm, and get better.” 

Throughout the season, Fraboulet said he hopes to retain the current team culture while also emphasising a more professional approach in preparation for the spring. 

“One thing I want the team to do better is to think about tennis outside of set practice times,” Fraboulet said. “This school is very challenging and it takes up alot of time, but we compete against women who have been playing tennis their whole lives. I just want them to give 100% when they are in the classroom and 100% when they are on the court.” 

Building on Fraboulet’s emphasis on commitment and excellence, Spinazze outlined the team’s ambitions for the year ahead.

“Our goal for this year is to keep competing in the G-MAC like we did last year,” Spinazze said. “These three upcoming tournaments will tell us where we are and what we need to do to prepare for the success. We’ll have lots of opportunities to play at home, which will be really fun and we get to be on campus which always brings a different type of energy.”