Team ready to place 2002 behind it, move on

To call the SIU women’s tennis season a losing one would be like saying the state of Georgia lost to General Sherman during his march to the sea at the end of the Civil War.

The Salukis suffered through more than just a losing 2002 season. They were crippled by injuries all year long, watching their roster shrink as the losses piled up. By the end of their last match, they had only two healthy players, down from the regulation six most teams enjoy.

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The Salukis will attend the conference tournament this year, but only as spectators. Their roster was small enough for the Missouri Valley Conference to grant them an exemption from the conference tournament. SIU also forfeited its final two matches of the regular season.

But the team that could not catch a break all season sees light at the end of the tunnel and is looking to the future, which it believes could be far more prosperous.

I want to leave it in the dust, said sophomore Alejandra Blanco, who will make a run at the No. 1 position next season. It’s going to be a new year. New year. New life.

Though the team wants to put the 2002 season behind, freshman Kari Stark said the team will not forget it.

Stark was able to find the silver lining in the now completed season and plans to exploit the season’s positive side as much as possible in the fall.

We’re going to try to shove the record out of our mind, but I think all of us have become stronger from this season, so we’re going to use some of that for next year, said Stark, naming character and ability to adapt as benefits. We’ll shove the bad part out and keep the good part in.

Blanco, Stark and Tana Trapani, who missed most of the season with a hip injury, will anchor the next generation of Saluki tennis. They will be the only holdovers from the 2002 season, and head coach Judy Auld said she is thrilled with her new core of talent, though she is disappointed to see senior Erika Ochoa move on.

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Auld said the three are not only good players, but hard workers and a great trio to build her team around.

I think they’re definitely going to be a good nucleus, Auld said. They will set the tone for the entire year, and I think they can really determine the success of the team.

Auld believes Blanco, Stark and Trapani will be great assets in dealing with new recruits. She just hopes she can find some of them to complement the trio, one of two major variables for next season. The other is Trapani’s hip.

Auld has sent out five scholarship offers for next season and thinks she has a shot at bringing in all five, including a Canadian player Auld believes could play No. 1 if she chooses SIU. The players’ names could not be released because of NCAA regulations.

The team has most likely secured two new recruits so far. One player has already been signed, but could not be named because the paperwork has yet to go through. The team is also expecting Blanco’s younger sister, Maria, to make the trip from Guadalajara, Mexico, to join the Salukis in the fall.

Auld has no idea who will fill the other spots, though she is hoping to recruit at least five. All she can do is wait.

It’s like Russian roulette, Auld said of recruiting. You load the gun, but it’s their choice after you make the offers.

The Salukis are also waiting to see what will become of Trapani’s injury. The redshirt sophomore is still experiencing problems with her hip joint, which is stretched, causing her hip to move in and out of the joint, causing swelling and pain.

Trapani expects the injury to heal by the fall season, but if it doesn’t, she wants to play through it.

It better be healed, Trapani said. I suppose there’s a chance it may not, but if it doesn’t, and I hope it will, I’ll learn to manage it.

Healthy or not, Trapani, along with Stark and Blanco, plans to put a world of pressure on the new players because she said the team has had enough of losing.

After this season, I don’t think anyone is going to put up with any slackers on the team, so the freshmen are in for it, Trapani said. They’ll have to work up to Kari and Alejandra’s standards.

Reporter Michael Brenner can be reached at [email protected]