Entering this season, it was clear that this year’s women’s tennis team was young, but extremely talented.
A few weeks back at the Wildcat Invitational , the team had a great performance overall and had flashes of just how good of a team it can be; however, there is still much to be learned.
Junior Lauren Marker kicked off her season last week with a solid outing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships as she advanced to the round of 32.
She, along with three other players, will be competing in the USTA/ITA Regional Championships this weekend. Among those representing Arizona are experienced senior Shayne Austin and the two talented freshmen Kinga Gartner and Camila Wesbrooks.
“The ITA regionals are a great opportunity for our team to play another high-level event,” Arizona women’s tennis head coach Vicky Maes said in a press release. “We have been working very hard in practice and I am excited to see how we will transfer this over into real matches. I expect to see mental toughness and lots of heart from everyone out there.”
Wesbrooks looks to carry over the great forum she displayed in the Invitational, in which she went 3-1 and also saw her enter the flight-two doubles final.
Gartner also posted the same 3-1, and will look to improve on that as she takes on some of the best teams the Southwest region has to offer.
Maes said she believes this tournament is perfect for the team’s learning curve and is a great chance for them to prove themselves.
“Results would be nice but that’s not my focus at this stage,” Maes said in a press release. “We have big goals for the spring and right now it’s about learning.”
Showing by far the focus for this tournament is gaining experiences and learning as much as the team can before the spring season begins.
This tournament will tell once again if the young talent can pull through and shine on a new stage, while for the experienced upper classmen it will be another warmup before the spring season draws near.
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