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Volume CXXXII, Number 3 |
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Tournament Reflects the Success of Women's Tennis
SANIDA KIKIC
STAFF WRITER
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| Lauren Gray '05 watches as her forehand sails towards her opponent. This weekend, Bowdoin plays host to the Omni Hotels/ ITA Regional Championship, a premier fall tournament. (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
This weekend, the Bowdoin Women's Tennis team will host The Omni Hotels/ITA Regional Championships for Division III schools. 18 different teams from the New England area will bring their top players to compete in both singles and doubles.
The matches will start at 9a.m. Friday and continue until Sunday afternoon. This means that there will be plenty of intense action on the Bowdoin tennis courts throughout the weekend and that all enthused fans are welcome to attend.
While The Omni Hotels/ITA tournament is no U.S. Open, it is nevertheless of great importance to the Bowdoin Women's Tennis program. This marks the first time that a tournament of national prominence has been held amidst Bowdoin's pines.
Coach Jane Paterson, the tournament director, jumped at the chance to host the tournament. "This is the first time we have been considered to host a tournament of such significance, and I hope that it will put Bowdoin College and Maine on the Division III tennis map as a quality site for future national competitions."
It is important to note that Bowdoin's opportunity to host the Omni Hotels/ITA Regional Championships is directly related to the continuous success of the Women's Tennis Team. In the spring of 2002, they competed in the NCAA Division III Championships but ended up losing in the first round to Trinity College.
The team also sent two sophomore players, Alexis Bawden and Paulette Hricko, to compete in the NCAA Division III Individual Championships held in Stone Briar, VA in May 2002.
Currently, the team is off to a 3-0 start having defeated USM, Brandeis, and Bates. Unfortunately, the team has been plagued by numerous injuries this season and has even lost Tara Sheehan '05, the #3 player from last season, who just underwent knee surgery.
Despite such heartbreaking injuries, the spirits on the team run high. Under great senior leadership from captains Arlyn Davich and Jenna Goldman, the relatively young team has showed resilience and determination in their first three matches.
Still, Coach Paterson concedes that there is a lot more work to be done before this stellar group of players reaches its potential. "The win-loss record is immaterial at this point considering that we haven't been tested as of yet". The true test will occur during Parent's Weekend when the Polar Bears face Tufts and Amherst.
Nearly all of the players are already thinking about the upcoming matches with great anticipation since the team has not beaten either one of these schools in the past three years. The vast experience of the junior players (Betsy Hayes, Alexis Bawden, Sanida Kikic and Paulette Hricko) as well as sophomore players (Lauren Gray, Caitlin Lombardi and Julia Shaver) will be a great asset in the upcoming matches. Furthermore, the two first-year additions to the team, Kristina Sisk and Kara Perriello, have already proven that they have the talent and the heart it takes to compete for the Polar Bears.
In fact, the biggest problem facing Coach Paterson and Assistant Coach Martin Wilson is determining the line-up. "We still have a lot of question-marks even though we are already three weeks into the season," said Coach Paterson.
She is thrilled that there are so many strong players because the team will be able to "rely on its depth to get through the tough matches".
As for this weekend, only Alexis Bawden, Paulette Hricko, and Kristina Sisk will be competing in the Omni Hotels/ITA Regional Championships. The action on the Bowdoin tennis courts will be hot this weekend and without a doubt even hotter when Tufts and Amherst make an appearance during Parent's Weekend.