Women's Tennis Defined by Youth

Author: Andrew Zimmermann

For the women's tennis team this is its second season this year. Although the roster is comprised completely of first-years and sophomores, the current squad is not lacking in talent as it completed a successful 4-3 campaign in the fall.

Over the past month the team has been training at Nelson Arena in preparation for the Panthers' first match at the University of Vermont (UVM) on Thursday. The young squad has been practicing a great deal of head to head match play in order to gain the experience it will need in a schedule that emphasizes tournament play.

Jena Siegal '04, one of the team's captains along with Sandy Spring '04, looks to the yearly spring break trip to Hilton Head, S.C. as a particularly tough challenge. The team will take on five schools from around the country, some of which were ranked in the nation's top 30 the previous season. Another test will come when the team defends its own turf in the Middlebury Invitation tournament held later in the spring.

With Siegal and Spring as leaders, the women's team will also look to first-year Lauren Ready, who is expected to have an impact. Ready missed some matches in the fall due to sickness but is healthy and in shape to contribute. Ariella Neville '03 is the biggest presence missing from the team as she is abroad and will not return till next fall.

With the only junior on the team not playing, there might be some doubts about the experience of the Panthers. Yet Siegal, a captain of the team in just her second year, is not worried. "The team should be fine," she said. "For the sophomores on the team since the beginning, this is their fourth season playing tennis." The first-years also have the advantage of the fall season.

Whether the team is ready or not, it will continue practice and head to UVM on Thursday for the opening match of the season. Hilton Head will provide the team quality chances to play outdoors, an opportunity it has not yet enjoyed in the Vermont winter. If all goes according to the Panther plan, the tennis team will be a high seed for the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) tournament which it will host at season's end.