Author: Joyce Lee
With six new additions to the team this year and an overall 2-3 record under its belt, Occidental’s women’s tennis team is ready to improve both its overall record and conference standing. While the newest members add to the team’s quality and performance, adapting to a change in dynamics can often be one of the most challenging things to achieve early in the season. “With the addition of new players, there’s always going to be a time of adjustment,” Head Coach Linda Park said.
However, acclimating to this change in team structure is one hurdle the women will have to conquer to produce positive results on the court. Fortunately, according to Brett Lalli (first-year), most of the new members are not finding integration into the team difficult.
“The team works very smoothly together,” Lalli said. “Once I . . . established my niche in the team, I was able to see the comraderie that has formed on the team in previous years and is continuing to develop.”The team lost its first game against Cal Lutheran, 7-2. Despite this loss, several players put up a good fight, such as Katrina Gould (sophomore) and Isabelle Ying (junior), who won their singles matches. “Katrina is tenacious on the court and never gave up. She lost the first set and came back to beat a very good player,” Park said. “Isabelle Ying, with her aggressive style of game, beat Cal Lutheran’s number six decisively in straight sets.”
Although the team was undoubtedly disappointed by its season-opener loss, Coach Park is completely confident that the girls will adapt and recover. She feels confident that the girls will acquire the necessary skills for a victorious year. “This will be a tough season and we know we’ll have to be committed and focused if we want to be successful,” Park said.
On Saturday, Feb. 13 the team took on the University of Redlands, which is ranked number one in conference and number eight in the nation. Unfortunately, Redlands’ experience proved too much for the Tigers, resulting in a disappointing 9-0 loss.
The team’s home matches against La Sierra University and Whittier College yielded better results for the team. The Tigers ended both matches with a 8-1 win.
As the season progresses, the Tigers look to improve their current 1-3 conference record. The team’s next match, which will be held on Feb. 27 against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sagehen territory, will give the women a chance to do so.
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