After defeating 24th-ranked Wheaton 8–1 on Wednesday, third-ranked women’s tennis takes on top-rated teams tomorrow at the Midwest Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Maroons open against 27th-ranked UW–Whitewater. Should they win, they will advance to a Saturday morning game against the victor of DePauw-Wash U, two teams that the women defeated 8–1. After that game, the draw could go several ways.
“The top seed in the other half of the draw is Denison,” third-year player Jennifer Kung said. “We’ve played them in the finals of the Midwest Invite the last two years, and their team always fights hard, so we’re always watching out for them. DePauw, Wash U, and Gustavus are all tough teams too.”
“Our goal is just to compete well each and every match. We don’t want to have another letdown like we did going into the match against Tufts [who defeated the Maroons 5–4 several weeks ago]. We can’t control whether we win or lose, but we want to make sure that everyone fights and plays with confidence in every single match.” As the final match before the UAA Championship April 22–24, the Invitational provides the women a chance to audition for the 6th singles slot that has rotated among several players this year, as well as boost their UAA seeding.
“Right now, I think Emory will be number 1, we’ll be number 2, Carnegie will be number 3, and Wash U. will be number 4,” Kung said. “I wouldn’t say there’s pressure, but we definitely want to do well at the Midwest Invite since we’ll be playing some really tough teams. Doing well there will hopefully give us some momentum.”
As for the 15th ranked men, they travel to North Central for their first match since beating fifth-ranked Wash U last weekend. That match earned third-year Troy Brinker a UAA Athlete of the Week award after his victories at second doubles and third singles.
“The goal for this upcoming match is the same as usual, just try to win every match on the court,” second-year doubles player Harrison Abrams said. “These matches just before UAA are really there to give us some competition outdoors before the main tournament. They are matches that we need to win but more than anything it’s good practice for UAAs.”
