By Travis Akin 13

Freshman Keri Crandall normally plays at the No. 6 spot for the SIUC women’s tennis team, but in the mixed-draw tournament at Bloomington, Ind., this weekend, she could be facing the No. 1 player from a Big 10 school.

This is going to be a tough tournament, Crandall said. All I can do is try my best and see what happens.

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The ITA/Rolex II Midwest Championships will consist of 16 teams, including SIUC, Ohio State University, Indiana University, Michigan State University and the University of Iowa.

The tournament is not flighted, so there will be single draws of 64 players. Each player will not be sure of the draw she will receive.

In the Oct. 25 tournament in Memphis, Tenn., Crandall lost in the semifinals at the No. 6 spot. She and freshman Laura Waggoner won the No. 4 doubles competition by finishing with a record of 2-0, despite the fact that Waggoner was not able to play in the Louisville tournament prior to the one in Memphis.

Crandall said she and Waggoner have been hitting well in practice and are ready for this weekend’s tournament. She said Waggoner’s absence at the Louisville Tournament has not affected their game.

We started out pretty well, and we clicked from the beginning, Crandall said. We got back into practice. It wasn’t hard to get back into it.

The tournament will be the last one for the fall preseason. Crandall said she will miss the competition, but she is ready for a break.

It is fun to compete every weekend, Crandall said. But I am ready to stay here and start studying hard again. We’ve played a lot of tough tournaments. Now it is time to prepare for the spring.

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Women’s tennis coach Judy Auld said she has noticed that her team has been showing the signs of being worn down, but that is typical at this time of the year.

I’ve seen this a lot around the middle of October, Auld said. A lot of them have mid-terms, and they are not as focused on tennis because they are worried about their classes. Sometimes they just wear down, but they bounce back and things are OK.

The Memphis, Tenn., tournament was a disappointment for Auld because the players did not get many singles matches. But the players are guaranteed at least two matches this weekend.

Physically we are in good shape, and I feel comfortable there, she said. We have not had any setbacks as far as injuries.

The main thing Auld wants for her team is to get match experience because this is the last opportunity the Salukis will have to compete until the spring season.

I feel like it is a big challenge, Auld said. I hope they can work their way through the draw as far as possible. But where the cards fall, they fall. The key is to get game experience because there is nothing to replace competition.