By Kylie Bowman
Although the main part of the tennis season doesn’t officially begin until the fall, the women’s tennis team is prepping for a great season right now.
Last season did not go as well as they would have liked for the women, and they did not reach their full potential. As a team, the University of Wisconsin–Stout Blue Devils played 10 different schools, with eight losses and two victories. In the WIAC championship, they placed 6th of seven teams. This spring they hope to do much better.
“Last year’s record didn’t reflect the talent we have on our team,” said sophomore Anna Lano of Chaska, Minn. “Our team has so many strong tennis players, and now that we have had one year together, this coming season will be so much better.”
Last year, the team was made up of mostly freshmen and transfer students, so Lano has hopes the team will live up to their potential this season now that they understand how to play together.
Kelsey Pedersen, a sophomore from Lake Elmo, Minn., agrees. “If we all stay on track with our goals, we should be able to beat several University of Wisconsin schools this fall, including River Falls, Oshkosh and Stevens Point,” says Pedersen.
For Lano, improving her singles game has been her main focus.
“Throughout the season, I will play both doubles and singles; right now, I am stronger playing doubles, and I would love to make my singles game stronger by becoming more consistent with my groundstrokes,” Lano said.
Pedersen is also working on her consistency, but commented that in the fall, “I hope to make it in the top four doubles with the WIAC championships.”
Tennis is played on an individual or partner basis, but each individual win counts towards the team win. Both Pedersen and Lano noted that if these individual goals can be accomplished, the team has a great season to look forward to.
There are three spring games for the Blue Devils, all of which are away games. On Saturday, April 12, they will travel to DePere, Wis. for an invitational, and on Wednesday, April 23, they will travel to Winona, Minn. for a match against St. Marys University. Best of luck on your upcoming season ladies!