The women’s tennis team is hoping history will repeat itself today with the beginning of conference play.
The Horned Frogs are beginning the same three-day series they swept last season, defeating conference rivals Colorado State, Air Force and Wyoming without losing a single match.
The No. 22 Horned Frogs finished 8-2 in the Mountain West last season.
“Each match is different,” said redshirt junior Macall Harkins. “We swept all of them last season, but we have to forget about that and remember it’s a new season and they have new girls that can surprise us in any way.”
TCU, which has a 10-4 overall record, opens its weekend series against the Colorado State Rams, who have a dual match record of 6-3 this season.
The Horned Frogs will face the Air Force Falcons on Saturday, who have compiled a 4-13 record and were defeated by Stetson 5-2 on Monday.
The Wyoming Cowgirls earned their 10th win this season against Santa Clara by a score of 5-2 and will play the University of New Mexico on Saturday before facing TCU on Sunday.
The Horned Frogs defeated the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday with an overall score of 6-1, their third win in a row.
Harkins said she believes the team has a chance of making it to the NCAA Championships and said the familiar home crowd benefits her game.
Head coach Jefferson Hammond said the home-field advantage is important in tennis for the player’s morale.
“You can see it in their eyes during warm-up,” Hammond said.
Harkins, who earned her third conference women’s tennis player of the week award Wednesday, won her singles match in the No. 2 position against Elena Antakova on Saturday 6-1, 6-3.
Harkins’ winning streak continued with her doubles partner, junior Anna Sydorska, in the No. 1 position with an 8-4 win over Ana-Maria Constantinescu and Chelsea Orr.
The doubles duo are ranked No. 12 and have an 11-2 overall record this season.
Sophomore Nina Munch-Soegaard defeated Orr7-6(1), 6-2 in the No. 1 singles match.
“Our goal is to play good tennis,” Hammond said. “The score is secondary.”
