After finishing a strong fall season at the ITA Regional Championships in October, women’s tennis will open its spring season against St. John’s on Sunday. The Lions didn’t play the Red Storm last season, but head coach Ilene Weintraub is confident the team will perform well. She believes the match will be a good way to start the season, and doesn’t want the girls to go in with any expectations.
The team is prepared for dual play tomorrow, which will be a change from the individual play typical in the fall.
“We will be using our nonconference matches to prepare for Ivy season,” Weintraub said. “I’m excited about the schedule we have organized because we are playing a number of ranked opponents as well as strong local teams.”
Her expectations for the nonconference season as a whole are optimistic. Women’s tennis is a young team that has gone through a building period over the past three years. Now the team is ready to open the season and, in Weintraub’s words, “we are young, resilient, and enthusiastic, and we have been working hard to improve every day.”
Coach Weintraub is also confident that freshman Nicole Bartnik will perform well despite the pressures of having a regional and national ranking. Bartnik comes into the spring season with a No. 5 Northeast ranking and stands No. 112 in the nation.
Another player to look out for in upcoming matches is junior captain Natasha Makarova. Makarova has improved greatly since the fall season, working hard over winter break to improve her game. She is a player to keep an eye on this spring season.
“It could be her best season yet,” Weintraub said.
The matchup for No. 1 singles looks good. Bartnik is scheduled to take on Ira Aleksova of St. John’s. In October, the No. 2-seeded Makarova defeated Aleksova at the USTA BJK NTC Women’s College Invitational. Weintraub expects Bartnick to perform very well.
“[Nicole Bartnick] has proven she can compete with the best players in the country,” Weintraub said.
The Lions are scheduled to play St. John’s at the Dick Savitt Tennis Center in Manhattan on Sunday at 6 p.m.
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