The women’s tennis team has been on campus, practicing hard in preparation for competition coming up this fall.

The coaches have been individually working with each athlete in order to help them improve in specific areas, and can give the athletes feedback on what they should be working on in practices.

The women had intended to take the MIAC title last year, but fell to Carleton in the Playoff Championships. This year, the women have the same goal and claim that they will redeem themselves, taking home the title this spring. If the Gusties do take the title, they plan to maintain their intensity at Nationals.

“The exciting thing is that all the people that did play in the top line up are back this year. We were so close to winning the MIAC in the spring last year so I think we have a really good chance this year,” Senior Captain Laurel Krebsbach said.

“We have to fight for every point. We know if we look on the court next to us our teammates will be doing the same.”—Sidney Dirks

The team only graduated one player this past year and adopted six talented First-years this fall.

According to the athletes, they’ve stepped up their game with more conditioning to ensure that they will be more than prepared for competition yet to come not only this fall, but this spring as well.

“This season we are preparing better since we are conditioning a lot harder, and everyone on the team is giving their best during practices,” Junior Sofia Huitron said.

The women have enthusiastically been playing on the court since they’ve set foot on campus again this fall, and are all excited to start working together again.

“I can see us coming together as a team and the work ethic among the girls is impressive. We have been working a lot on our doubles and it is coming together nicely,” Junior Sidney Dirks said.

The women have expressed that their success lies in their efforts as a team, not just as individual tennis players.

“We have to fight for every point. We know if we look on the court next to us our teammates will be doing the same,” Dirks said.

In addition to their personal efforts, the athletes have stated that they wouldn’t be nearly as successful if it weren’t for the dedication from their coaches, Jon Carlson and Heidi Carlson.

“We have a great coaching staff. Our head coach is really knowledgeable, and his wife, the assistant coach makes it such a fun atmosphere for us to play in,” Krebsbach said.

-Haley Bell