Season Preview: Women's Tennis
1/13/2023 4:49:00 PM | Women's Tennis
ABILENE – A win over top-seeded Grand Canyon in last season's WAC quarterfinals whet the appetite of the Abilene Christian University women's tennis team and they enter the 2023 season ready for the main course.
"I think last year we were disappointed that we didn't win it because we knocked off the No. 1 seed and we felt like we had a really good shot to be in the finals and we'd beaten New Mexico State in the regular season," said ACU Head Coach Bryan Rainwater. "So it may seem like a high goal to have the conference championship in our mind but it's something that's always a goal, especially with the returners."
That quest would culminate after months of individual improvements through practice and a slate of contests that will test the mettle of the Wildcats. Establishing an atmosphere of hard work and cohesion is a foundation on which Rainwater hopes to build for this season and beyond.
"I think the big goal this year is just developing that culture with the three freshmen and continuing to build on what we have built the last two years," said Rainwater. "I'm feeling good about this team and the group that we have is really coming together. So that's exciting. And just continuing to build that in the next two or three years is what I'm looking forward to."
The schedule is designed to produce a conference contender.
"I set the schedule up where we would have a lot of tough matches, knowing that the WAC was going to be really tough this year," Rainwater said. "I tried to stack it early on and not necessarily just play Power Five schools but really good mid-major tennis schools that I knew would push us."
The Wildcats have one senior – Andrea Guerrero – who will return for her fifth year next season. Junior Maryjoe Crisologo and sophomores Eva Arranz and Paula Garrote also return this season, Newcomers are freshman Maria Cascos from Spain, Masha Vrsalovic from Bolivia and Olivia Sears from Goshen, Indiana.
Crisologo, from Spain, is back for her third season at the No. 1 slot and her experience, along with a booming forehand, will be a key to success.
"Her first year was in COVID and playing No. 1 as a freshman is a tough adjustment anyway, but her freshman year was a learning experience," said Rainwater. "Last year, she started to learn what her game was and got some confidence. She has one of the strongest forehands I've seen and she can really attack the serve. I think her biggest strengths are quickness and forehand. She can move anybody around the court well. I think she's embracing the number one position."
The three Wildcat freshmen are expected to fill slots 2, 3 and 5 with Guerrero, who hails from Mexico City, bringing her senior leadership to the No. 4 singles position.
Guerrero fashioned an 11-win season last year, including a quarterfinal win against Grand Canyon.
"Her biggest strength is experience, getting to play that four spot," said Rainwater "She played it all year last year and did really well. She's definitely a grinder. She likes to move the ball around. She's very consistent and likes to dictate from the baseline. She plays really long matches and likes to leave people out there for a long time and make them play. Just runs the ball down like crazy but her biggest strength I would say is definitely her forehand, stepping in and cracking."
Vrsalovic leads the freshman trio as the expectant No. 2 singles player.
"I have high expectations for Masha over the next four years," Rainwater said. "She had a really good Juniors record. She played Junior ITS so she has a log of good experience. She's played a lot of big matches so she's not intimidated by playing at No. 2. Her backhand is a huge weapon and she worked this fall on hitting her spots with her serve. I think her biggest strength is her athleticism and the ability to work the ball around the court."
Sears will begin the season as the No. 3 entrant who picked up some valuable experience this fall.
"Olivia came in as a highly ranked five-star recruit so she had a lot of accolades coming in," said Rainwater. "But in Indiana, she didn't get to play a lot of tournaments last year. So in the fall Tournaments she was ranked really high so they put her into the main draws where she was playing in the number one position and a lot of the tournaments. She played well against good competition but she didn't get a lot of wins. But moving through the fall in the offseason, we worked on some things to build up her confidence. Her strengths are her serve and she can just knock the crap out of the ball and run anybody around."
Cascos looks to be at the No. 5 singles spot.
"I have high expectations for all my freshmen but Maria kind of surprised me a little bit in a good way in the fact that she is going to be probably moving up quicker than I thought," said Rainwater. "She has worked hard this fall and got better. I think as she grows and gets more belief in herself, she's going to be a really dangerous player. She's super athletic, really good shape, very fast and she can hit the ball really well from both sides."
While Arranz will begin the season at No. 6, Garrote is expected to move into the slot as the season progresses.
"Paula (Garrote) was All-Conference in the WAC at line six, so we're excited to get her back there whenever she does get back in there," said Rainwater. "She's strong. She's not afraid to go after somebody and that's really good as six. But I think the thing that helps her the most is she wants to win every single point. Very tenacious, very big personality. And she goes after her opponents.
Arranz gets a chance to prove herself in the early part of the season after seeing the court primarily as a doubles entrant last season.
"We're excited to see her play some singles," Rainwater said. "I think with the opportunity early on to play some singles, we'll get to see how her confidence is. She had a good win in the fall that we were super happy about."
Changes are coming in doubles despite a strong performance last season by Crisologot and Guerrero, who were 8-4 last season with a win over GCU in the WAC quarterfinals.
"Doubles will change a lot. I feel like I have five doubles players when you need six but I know I can develop a couple of them," said Rainwater. "Playing number one will be Masha and Olivia to start. Two freshmen but they have the big game. They have the overall game. They're not afraid to play at the net. We'll just have to see if they can play in those big moments.
"Two and three are going to kind of go back and forth. For the first match. I plan on putting Maryjoe and Maria at two and just kind of letting them swing a little bit. They played together a little bit in the fall. Three doubles will be Andrea and Eva. Andi and MJ played doubles mostly last year. and that was a really good combination in line three, but now I feel like I have to split them up."
The Wildcats open the season Thursday at SMU before debuting at home on Jan. 21 opposite Texas-San Antonio.
"I think last year we were disappointed that we didn't win it because we knocked off the No. 1 seed and we felt like we had a really good shot to be in the finals and we'd beaten New Mexico State in the regular season," said ACU Head Coach Bryan Rainwater. "So it may seem like a high goal to have the conference championship in our mind but it's something that's always a goal, especially with the returners."
That quest would culminate after months of individual improvements through practice and a slate of contests that will test the mettle of the Wildcats. Establishing an atmosphere of hard work and cohesion is a foundation on which Rainwater hopes to build for this season and beyond.
"I think the big goal this year is just developing that culture with the three freshmen and continuing to build on what we have built the last two years," said Rainwater. "I'm feeling good about this team and the group that we have is really coming together. So that's exciting. And just continuing to build that in the next two or three years is what I'm looking forward to."
The schedule is designed to produce a conference contender.
"I set the schedule up where we would have a lot of tough matches, knowing that the WAC was going to be really tough this year," Rainwater said. "I tried to stack it early on and not necessarily just play Power Five schools but really good mid-major tennis schools that I knew would push us."
The Wildcats have one senior – Andrea Guerrero – who will return for her fifth year next season. Junior Maryjoe Crisologo and sophomores Eva Arranz and Paula Garrote also return this season, Newcomers are freshman Maria Cascos from Spain, Masha Vrsalovic from Bolivia and Olivia Sears from Goshen, Indiana.
Crisologo, from Spain, is back for her third season at the No. 1 slot and her experience, along with a booming forehand, will be a key to success.
"Her first year was in COVID and playing No. 1 as a freshman is a tough adjustment anyway, but her freshman year was a learning experience," said Rainwater. "Last year, she started to learn what her game was and got some confidence. She has one of the strongest forehands I've seen and she can really attack the serve. I think her biggest strengths are quickness and forehand. She can move anybody around the court well. I think she's embracing the number one position."
The three Wildcat freshmen are expected to fill slots 2, 3 and 5 with Guerrero, who hails from Mexico City, bringing her senior leadership to the No. 4 singles position.
Guerrero fashioned an 11-win season last year, including a quarterfinal win against Grand Canyon.
"Her biggest strength is experience, getting to play that four spot," said Rainwater "She played it all year last year and did really well. She's definitely a grinder. She likes to move the ball around. She's very consistent and likes to dictate from the baseline. She plays really long matches and likes to leave people out there for a long time and make them play. Just runs the ball down like crazy but her biggest strength I would say is definitely her forehand, stepping in and cracking."
Vrsalovic leads the freshman trio as the expectant No. 2 singles player.
"I have high expectations for Masha over the next four years," Rainwater said. "She had a really good Juniors record. She played Junior ITS so she has a log of good experience. She's played a lot of big matches so she's not intimidated by playing at No. 2. Her backhand is a huge weapon and she worked this fall on hitting her spots with her serve. I think her biggest strength is her athleticism and the ability to work the ball around the court."
Sears will begin the season as the No. 3 entrant who picked up some valuable experience this fall.
"Olivia came in as a highly ranked five-star recruit so she had a lot of accolades coming in," said Rainwater. "But in Indiana, she didn't get to play a lot of tournaments last year. So in the fall Tournaments she was ranked really high so they put her into the main draws where she was playing in the number one position and a lot of the tournaments. She played well against good competition but she didn't get a lot of wins. But moving through the fall in the offseason, we worked on some things to build up her confidence. Her strengths are her serve and she can just knock the crap out of the ball and run anybody around."
Cascos looks to be at the No. 5 singles spot.
"I have high expectations for all my freshmen but Maria kind of surprised me a little bit in a good way in the fact that she is going to be probably moving up quicker than I thought," said Rainwater. "She has worked hard this fall and got better. I think as she grows and gets more belief in herself, she's going to be a really dangerous player. She's super athletic, really good shape, very fast and she can hit the ball really well from both sides."
While Arranz will begin the season at No. 6, Garrote is expected to move into the slot as the season progresses.
"Paula (Garrote) was All-Conference in the WAC at line six, so we're excited to get her back there whenever she does get back in there," said Rainwater. "She's strong. She's not afraid to go after somebody and that's really good as six. But I think the thing that helps her the most is she wants to win every single point. Very tenacious, very big personality. And she goes after her opponents.
Arranz gets a chance to prove herself in the early part of the season after seeing the court primarily as a doubles entrant last season.
"We're excited to see her play some singles," Rainwater said. "I think with the opportunity early on to play some singles, we'll get to see how her confidence is. She had a good win in the fall that we were super happy about."
Changes are coming in doubles despite a strong performance last season by Crisologot and Guerrero, who were 8-4 last season with a win over GCU in the WAC quarterfinals.
"Doubles will change a lot. I feel like I have five doubles players when you need six but I know I can develop a couple of them," said Rainwater. "Playing number one will be Masha and Olivia to start. Two freshmen but they have the big game. They have the overall game. They're not afraid to play at the net. We'll just have to see if they can play in those big moments.
"Two and three are going to kind of go back and forth. For the first match. I plan on putting Maryjoe and Maria at two and just kind of letting them swing a little bit. They played together a little bit in the fall. Three doubles will be Andrea and Eva. Andi and MJ played doubles mostly last year. and that was a really good combination in line three, but now I feel like I have to split them up."
The Wildcats open the season Thursday at SMU before debuting at home on Jan. 21 opposite Texas-San Antonio.
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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