Tennis team excited about play

There is a great sense of optimism from Coach Laurie Mercer when she talks about this year's women's tennis team.

"We think this is the strongest freshmen class we've had," Mercer said. "When you combine them with our returners, we think that this will be the strongest team we have had."

Last season, the team won its first regular season Mid-American Conference title and had an overall record of 20-7. They were defeated by Western Michigan in the MAC Tournament final. Mercer shared the MAC Coach of the Year award with Miami's Ray Reppert.

The Thundering Herd returns four of its top six starters from a season ago. The team is led by junior Anna Mitina, who finished last season ranked No. 11 in the region.

The other returning starters are seniors Anna Ceretto, Sheela Cabiling and Jessie Watkins. Junior Tara McGuire returns after missing last year with a shoulder injury. Mitina and Ceretto were All-MAC selections a year ago.

The new faces on the team include Alice Sukner and Meghan Skalsky. Mercer said Sukner, who was ranked No. 64 in the nation as a high school senior, is the is the highest ranked American the tennis team has ever signed. Mercer said she is ready for the season to begin.

"I think we have done pretty well (in practice)," Mercer said. "The kids are excited. We need to play a lot of matches and get some practice in actual match play."

The season begins today as the Thundering Herd travels to North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. Host N.C. State, the University of Virginia, Davidson and Appalachian State are among the teams competing in the eight-team tournament.

The fall season consists of seven tournaments with only individual records being recorded. The spring season begins in January with team results as the emphasis.

"We're really excited to go to the first tournament to see how everyone is playing," Mercer said. "It will be nice to have our main season in the spring. We can use the fall to figure out what we need to work on."