Arizona women’s tennis head coach Vicky Maes and assistant coach Brian Ramirez will share coaching duties today through Sunday when they take members of the team to California for two different tournaments, the Nike Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., and the SDSU Invitational in San Diego.
Senior Kasia Jakowlew and freshman Natalia Toporowska will compete in Berkeley, while Maes will travel to San Diego State’s campus with junior Camelia Todorova, sophomore Tina Razloznik, and freshman Sydni Katz.
In terms of improvement from the last tournament Arizona competed in, Maes would like to see the women use the skills developed in practice, while working well under pressure.
“”We’ve done a lot a work in the last few weeks on our game,”” she said.
Razloznik said there shouldn’t be much pressure in this event, so she can play as relaxed as if it were practice.
Both the Nike and the SDSU invitationals will give the team a chance to play some opponents they may get to see again in the spring season, Maes said.
The SDSU Invitational will give Arizona, who is playing in this tournament for the first time, the opportunity to play teams like the San Diego and SDSU, which are both on the schedule for the spring season.
From a coach’s perspective, Maes would like to see them win a few matches to get more tournament experience.
“”Whether they win or lose, they’re going to get to play three or four matches, and that’s key,”” she said.
Todorova, who is from the San Diego area, said that she would always like to win, but she also agrees with Maes’ outlook on the tournaments of the fall.
“”I’ve been training really hard, and I hope to get really far in the tournament,”” she said.
Overall, Maes wants to see her squad meet her expectations this weekend.
“”I don’t expect incredible results, but I do expect to see them transfer the things that we do in practice before a match,”” she said.