Women’s tennis team hopes to improve over season

Sophomore Karina Kotova. Photo from snuathletics.com

By Kendra Nixon, Content editor

The SNU tennis team is off to a rough start. The new schedule is filled with strong, experienced teams. Despite the difficult schedule, the ladies are determined to improve as the season continues.

Maria Shipilova, junior, has done well so far, but strives to improve individually and as a team.

“We played really good teams that are ranked on top in our conference. We fought very hard, and were very close in all of our matches,” Shilpilova said. “However, it’s just the beginning of the season, and we are definitely going to improve. “

Due to injuries and inclement weather, the team has had some matches cancelled or postponed. But as the warmer weather approaches, the team looks to get some wins under their belts.

Kim Wiedemann, senior, has been out for an injury, but was recently released to compete again. Her injury held her back from a few matches, but now that she is healthy again, she looks forward to getting back in the game.

“As an individual, I just want to get healthy and back in shape so that I can get back on the court,” Wiedemann said. “As a team I think we need to continue to play with focus and intent.”

The team’s next match is Wednesday, March 20 at Texas A&M Kingsville. SNU needs to get start racking up the wins in order to make it to the regional tournament.

“We need to compete! We need to win as many matches as possible during the regular season,” Shilpilova said. “In order to go to nationals, you have to win regionals or have a good overall result. In my mind, we need to make sure we win as many matches as possible during the season because it is more secured way to make it to nationals. Of course, we can dominate the regional tournament as well.”

The next local match is Thursday, March 28 at East Central University in Edmond, OK. As the team continues down the road to regional’s, they only look back to see where to make improvements.

Deisi Bolivar, senior, believes her team is capable of great success.

“I think that everyone on the team is very capable to get better and work hard through the season,” Bolivar said. “Also, the matches that we have played they were very close, but we did not take the chance at the right time.”

To follow the tennis team on their journey to success, check out http://www.snuathletics.com