Daily Egyptian Reporter 13.8

The Indiana University preseason tennis tournament may not count against the SIUC women’s tennis team’s record, but coach Judy Auld said it will give the players valuable game experience.

I like this tournament, Auld said. It really throws our players into some solid competition. It gives us some idea what the players need more coaching in.

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The team will be competing in Bloomington, Ind., Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Six schools will be competing Indiana University, Western Michigan University, the University of Miami of Ohio, Ball State University, Marquette University and SIUC.

Although the tournament does not count against the team’s record, it will count toward individual records.

Auld said the most important aspect of the tournament is the opportunity for some of her new players to discover weaknesses in their games. She said her team does not need to be concerned about wins and losses.

What I look for is if a player improves, Auld said. I look for improvement from match to match because you build one match at a time.

Auld plans to use the tournament to test some of the doubles combinations she has been developing in practice.

Nothing is set in stone, she said. We are working on some things and trying to see if it works in matches.

Senior Molly Card fared the best in the tournament last year by posting a sixth-place finish in the No. 1 flight.

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Card said she enjoys the tournament because it is a homecoming for the Terre Haute, Ind., native.

It is always one of my favorite tournaments, Card said. We get to play schools we normally don’t get to play, and I feel like I have the home-court advantage because I have been playing on those courts.

Card said the doubles practicing has gone well, but everyone is ready for competition.

When you practice as much as we have, I think it comes down to the fact that we want to go out and compete, Card said. Everyone is just looking forward to getting started.

Card will head into the tournament in the team’s top spot.

The top four spots for SIUC will be Card, Sanem Berksoy, Helen Johnson and Jennifer Robison, while the bottom four spots will consist of Maria Vallareal, Keri Crandall, Mardee Crane and Laura Waggoner.

While the veterans have the top spots, Crandall said she and the other freshmen are just ready to see what college competition is like.

I am looking forward to playing, Crandall said. It will be some different competition. Practices have gone well, and we are in shape because we have been doing conditioning.

Crandall’s goal is to keep improving and learn as much as she can at the tournament.

I have no expectations going into this tournament, Crandall said. I know it is going to be a lot more competition than I have had. I just want to go out to the court, give it my all, and hopefully it will be a good outcome.