When the women’s tennis players hit the courts this Friday in their home match against the Wyoming Cowgirls, they will be looking to improve their doubles matches, thanks to some changing of doubles teams, said assistant coach Jeff Hammond.”We really are trying to find some solid teams,” Hammond said. “We are trying to shore up on our doubles.”
Hammond also said the Frogs (8-5) have recently struggled in winning doubles points this year, especially when compared to last year’s success. He said partner changes have been made because some of the girls play better together on the court.
“Chemistry is very important,” he said.
Junior Ana Cetnik said the new pairings give the team a chance to have new interactions as part of a learning process.
“These changes are to see what is the best to win,” Cetnik said.
Hammond said Cetnik was recently paired with senior Helena Besovic to play the number one position for TCU, and together the duo defeated the then No. 3 team in the country, Harvard’s senior Melissa Anderson and junior Elsa O’Riain.
The match against Wyoming (7-7) will be the first conference match of the season. Hammond said though each match is equally important, the team also treats each one with its own set of goals. For this particular match, he said the Frogs want to start conference play strong.
“We want to come out strong, especially in doubles,” Hammond said.
He also said after coming off a win against Harvard over the weekend, the team felt it responded well during play and hopes to carry that into this match.
“We want to focus on getting better,” he said. “It is a process.”
Sophomore Andrea Morgado said in her personal game, she will work on staying more positive while she is on the court.
“I am going to talk positive to myself and keep fighting to break down my opponent,” Morgado said.
Cetnik said she also wishes to incorporate an optimistic attitude during her matches.
“I try to use everything to be mentally strong,” Cetnik said. “I work on staying positive all during the match.”
Both Cetnik and Morgado said they feel their team can have a lot of success this season, and starting off this weekend with a win will be a good way to start off.
“This is one of the best teams we’ve had,” Morgado said. “I think we can go to the Sweet 16 then even further.”
Hammond said the Frogs are looking to play strong throughout conference matches – in their first year as members of the Mountain West Conference – and therefore need to do so in their match against the Cowgirls.
“We are very excited about this conference season,” he said. “We want to start the conference strong, so it’s a very important match.