Avery Boulware, Campus Carrier Sports Editor
Aiming high but falling short, Berry women’s tennis traveled to Emory University on Saturday, where they lost 9-0 to the second-highest ranked team in Division III.
Emory had to play Berry in order to establish their regional ranking, but Berry used the match as an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season.
“We did see some good things,” said head coach Clay Hightower. “With it being our first match, we played pretty well, and [Emory is] a really good team. Even though we didn’t win that many games, we were happy.”
Assistant coach Jennifer Tinnell was encouraged by the amount of deuces at the match, which showed the Vikings’ ability to compete with such a close competitor.
Senior Kaleigh Carpenter is confident that future matches will be easier in comparison to Emory.
“It’s good that we played them now, because we aren’t going to play a team better than them for the rest of the season,” Carpenter said.
Next week the Vikings play Agnes Scott, then they will travel to Hilton Head during Spring Break, playing five matches in nine days.
The team dynamic for women’s tennis has remained mostly the same from last season. There were no seniors last year, so none of the players have graduated. However, there have been several injuries on the team, including junior Maggie Midkiff, who has been nursing a leg injury from soccer season in the fall. Midkiff remains on the team as a manager.
“Our top four girls are the same from last year, so we know what to expect from them,” Hightower said. “They are great competitors.”
The Vikings hope to improve their game play this year, even though the team hasn’t grown.
“We are going to have to work really hard to beat some of the teams that we usually beat,” Carpenter said. “We’re going to have to focus and work hard to get to the same place that we normally get.”
Hightower pinpointed doubles matches as a weaker area for the Vikings, something that they will be focusing on improving during the course of the season.
“Some of our players just didn’t have that much experience in tournaments or high school playing doubles,” Hightower said. “So even though it’s three points out of the nine, it’s a huge positive if you can take at least two of the doubles. We are always looking to get better at the net, understanding how to move and be in good position during doubles.”