The women’s tennis team finished in fifth place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournaments last weekend in Eagle Rock.
The tournament being postponed helped senior Katy Nash want to work harder and work hard she did.
Nash went undefeated in her five matches going 2-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles.
“I really did my best this season, the coach did a good job coaching,” said Nash, a speech communications major who has played tennis for 10 years and who has been on the women’s team since she was a freshman. “I was a lot more relaxed.”
In their first round of the tournament the women’s team suffered a lost to the host team Occidental, 5-1.
That first loss, however, did not get the ladies down. They came back to win their next two rounds against Whittier, 8-1, and Caltech, 5-4.
Nash rallied for five hours in her singles’ match against Caltech.
The team ended the season by winning the Sportsmanship Award.
In addition, senior Jessica Baker was also named to All-SCIAC second team.
“It was a long tournament due to the delays,” said Baker a movement and sports science major who has played tennis for 11 years and who has been on the team all four years. “I couldn’t be happier with the results.”
Junior Lacey Wiles is also happy with the results and she has already begun to think about next season.
“I plan on practicing and working hard this summer,” said Wiles, a philosophy major who has been playing tennis for 10 years and this is her first year on the team. “I want to come in better prepared next season.”
As she is set to graduate, Baker wants her remaining teammates to keep up the hard work and train adequately in order to prevent injuries.
ULV has dealt with a lot of injuries this season and many of players had to step their game up to help the team.
“It made us stronger to be given a higher spot than what we would usually play,” said Nash.
Next season expect a more focused and improved women’s tennis team.
As for the rest of this season, some of the ULV women are competing in the ongoing Ojai Tournament.
Keisha Clay can be reached at kclay@ulv.edu