By Travis Akin 15

The SIUC women’s tennis team faced some trouble at the Missouri Valley Conference Individual Tennis Championship in St. Louis last weekend, but two of the team’s doubles squads overcame the adversity to post solid performances.

The No. 3 doubles team of freshmen Keri Crandall and Laura Waggoner finished third with a record of 2-1. Meanwhile, the No. 2 doubles team of junior Mardee Crane and senior Helen Johnson was 1-1, losing in the semifinals to a team from Wichita State University.

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Crane said she and Johnson played well because they were communicating better. She said the support she received from the team also helped her performance.

There was a lot of team spirit, Crane said. That is a big help in a match. I felt we made a big improvement (last weekend).

But not all of the doubles teams fared as well. The No. 1 doubles team of seniors Molly Card and Sanem Berksoy finished the tournament with an 0-2 record.

SIUC women’s tennis coach Judy Auld said Berksoy and Card played well, but could not put it together enough to win.

Auld said the tournament was a learning experience to prepare for conference play beginning in April.

Basically, we had not seen our conference opponents until this match, Auld said. The big key is the chance to size up teams and to see which teams made improvements and which teams went down. What it comes down to is that in this conference, there are a lot of schools who can beat each other on any given day.

Auld said the solid play in doubles combined with the fact that many of her players were struggling with their games during the tournament showed that SIUC could compete in the conference.

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Card lost in two straight set matches at the No. 1 spot. Auld said Card is adjusting and is playing opponents she has never played before.

Molly played two tough matches, Auld said. It may take some time to get some experience. The losses were not the result of Molly making bad decisions or making errors. She was just not capitalizing on points she needed. In this situation, the other players got the better of her.

Berksoy, though, won the consolation match at the No. 2 position after losing her first match in two sets. She went on to win three matches and now has 102 victories and is second on the all-time win list at SIUC.

Juniors Jennifer Robison and Maria Villarreal struggled in the singles competition, as both Robison and Villarreal were 0-2 in two straight set losses.

Robison said she simply never got her game together.

I was a little cold and things didn’t happen, Robison. I knew what I had to do, but didn’t execute. I was on defense more than I should have been.

But even though SIUC struggled in singles competition, Crane had success in both singles and doubles. Crane finished 1-1, losing in the semifinals of the No. 7 singles.

Winning my round was a big confidence builder, Crane said. Consistency also was a big factor. I did not let my mind drift, and I was not losing focus.

The Salukis travel to Louisville, Ky., Friday for the Louisville Invitational.