The Record

Blazers draw on depth and chemistry

By: Anna Martin

As the St. Ben’s tennis team begins their season against rival St. Thomas on Feb. 20, they have high expectations for what they will be able to accomplish this spring.

With all returning players, the team hopes to be able to be at the top of the MIAC.

“Our team goals this year are to qualify for the MIAC tournament by being in the top six at the end of the regular season and to improve our overall positioning within the conference” Coach Scott Larsen said via e-mail.

The MIAC, which has become competitive, will push the women to work hard this season. Some strong competitors will be Gustavus, Carleton, Saint Olaf, and St. Thomas.

“However, we cannot overlook the other teams as well,” No. 1 doubles player Lauren Jones said. We need to focus on each individual match as being a highly competitive one.”

“In order to overcome these challenging matches, we always push each other at practice because that makes for better matches and we work out as well, developing strength and endurance: two critical components in tennis,” Jones said.

The team, which has been working hard at practice for a couple weeks, is excited to start the season. With all members of the team contributing to their success, the key contributors will be the seniors on the team.

“Our team is very deep so everyone is a contributor, from number one singles to six. Obviously our two seniors, Rachel Tiegs and Katie Rudtninski are going to be key contributors because they want to finish their tennis careers off with a bang,” Jones said.

On and off the court, the team chemistry helps the women to push themselves to work harder. This close-knit group of women are supportive of each other, which adds to their success.

“They bring a level of intensity to each of our practices and matches that is so impressive, yet they have a smile on their face when they get done working out because they are having fun, enjoy being with each other and want to win,” Larsen said.

In looking forward into the season, the team is optimistic about what they can accomplish.

“We are very excited for our upcoming matches this weekend (Feb. 19-20) and to get our season going,” Jones said. “We are also looking forward to our Spring Break trip to Puerto Rico. That is going to be one of the highlights of this season.”

---