Women’s tennis spring break recap

SIUC returned from Florida exhausted but a little more confident about its chances to win this spring.

The Salukis wrapped their spring break trip to Chicago and Florida with a 3-3 record. The trip met coach Judy Auld’s expectations and showed her squad just how important depth and extra effort are against solid competition.

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Overall, we went 3-3 and I said before we’d be happy to come back at .500 because I was going by knowing the teams and knowing the level of tennis we were going to have to play, Auld said.

The Salukis opened the trip by dropping two out of three matches in Chicago. SIUC beat Northern Illinois University 6-3 March 6 before falling to the University of Illinois-Chicago 8-1 and DePaul University 6-1 March 7.

SIUC then headed to Florida and earned two wins in three matches. The Salukis shut out Winthrop University 9-0 March 10 and beat the University of Miami-Ohio 6-3 Thursday before falling to a strong Rollins College squad 7-2 Friday.

I think in terms of the trip overall, it was good for our doubles to start clicking a little bit and playing consistently, Auld said. That’s what we need from here on out a steady showing and just being mentally tough in all the doubles.

In their wins, the Salukis relied on a solid effort from their doubles tandems. The team of seniors Molly Card and Sanem Berksoy keyed the effort with wins in No. 1 doubles against NIU, Winthrop and Miami. Juniors Maria Villareal and Jennifer Robison earned three wins in No. 3 doubles in Florida.

What I really want to get is three doubles teams playing good consistently the rest of the season, Auld said. I think that could really determine a lot of matches for us. I felt like they can play with a lot of teams in the conference, so it’s just getting them to play to good, consistent doubles.

Another impressive effort on the trip was the play of freshman Keri Crandall. Crandall captured five wins out of six matches in her No. 6 singles spot, falling only to Amy Will of Rollins College Friday.

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Crandall has given Auld the luxury of having six solid players, an extra advantage against teams like Winthrop that have solid players in the first three or four spots but are weak at the bottom.

She won five out of six matches, and that’s pretty good, Auld said. I know that depth is what ultimately wins matches for you. We have not had a really solid six for quite a few years. Considering that she’s only a freshman, I only see where her game is going to get better.

Auld’s team also made good use of a different strategy during the trip. Auld has been impressing on her players to eliminate unforced errors by being the aggressor in their matches.

The strategy helped the team pick up several close matches and also made an impression on the Salukis’ opponents.

That’s something I’ve been telling them all semester, Auld said. Just get the ball back one more time. Let the other person make the mistake. Let them hit the weak shot.’ By getting it back one more time, you challenge them to do a little bit more with the ball every time.

Although the trip was a success, Auld and her team are glad to be back in Carbondale. The Salukis have taken two days off from practice to help recuperate before their trip to Memphis March 27-28.

It was a very long trip between going to Chicago and Florida, Auld said. It was kind of an exhausting time. It’s kind of nice to back for a couple of weeks without having to go anywhere.