By Travis Akin 19.4

Women’s tennis player Keri Crandall may have ended the preseason with a losing record, but that has not kept her from anticipating a new spring season.

Crandall finished the preseason with an 8-9 record, and in doubles play she and freshman Laura Waggoner ended at 9-6.

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I know it (the fall preseason) was a good experience, Crandall said. It helps you find what you need to work on for the spring season.

The Salukis ended the preseason last weekend by competing in the ITA/Rolex II Midwest Championships in Bloomington, Ind.

Crandall finished the tournament with a record of 1-2 in singles, while she and Waggoner went 1-2 in doubles.

Crandall said the tournament was a positive one for her because she found areas of her game in which she can improve.

I need to be more consistent and not get so down on myself, Crandall said. I need to stay positive, and that will help in the spring. I sometimes show too much emotion and give the opponent an advantage over me.

Crandall said that when she shows she is upset, her emotions give the opponents some encouragement and help them to play better against her.

Women’s tennis coach Judy Auld wants her players to show emotion on the court but to hold back when bad things happen.

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I don’t like for my players to show emotion in a negative way, Auld said. This doesn’t do anything positive or constructive for her (Crandall). When she hits a lousy shot, she can’t let it bother her. If you hit a shot good or bad, you have to get ready for the return.

But Auld said she supports players to encourage themselves when they make good shots, which is something Crandall does do.

Auld has been working with Crandall in improving her swing to get more power. Crandall said she has improved her power, but she has not played as well in other areas during the preseason.

When practice started, I was working so much on my hitting, trying to hit with more power, that I lost some consistency working on that, Crandall said. But it has been a good season.

Auld said she is pleased with the team particularly with the way the freshmen have performed, but she wants more consistency from the team in the spring.

More than anything, I want to put some of the streaky play behind us, Auld said. But we did have five new people and there is a transition they have to go through being at new school.

There were no Saluki finalists at the Rolex II tournament, but Auld said her players stuck with the matches and turned some of them around.

What I don’t want to see is players going through the motions, Auld said. I saw some of the level of play go up. When they were down in a game, they started to realize that doesn’t mean it is over, but they can fight back. Never count yourself out of a match and never count on winning the match either.

Senior Sanem Berksoy fought back in a match when she was down and finished the tournament with a 2-1 record. Senior Helen Johnson was 1-2, but after she lost one game 6-1, she stepped up and almost pulled out the second before losing 7-6.

In doubles, Johnson and junior Mardee Crane put up a 1-1 mark at the tournament and went 9-9 in the preseason.

Johnson said she and Crane have some work they need to do to be ready for the spring season.

I still feel that in certain areas, we are not communicating as well as we can, Johnson said. We need to have it in practice because it is better to learn in practice. There are times in a match we have no communication or miscommunication. We need to decide and communicate in practice if a ball goes here, Do I get it or does she get it?’

Auld said she likes the intensity she saw in Johnson, and she and the other seniors have been good leaders for players such as Crandall and Waggoner during the fall preseason.

They have been good role models and are definitely leaders, Auld said. They play hard and practice hard. If we have seniors not willing to put forth the extra effort, the other players see that. When things are down, you see who the real leaders are.