Thursday, January 31, 2008
Honolulu wasn’t all fun and sun for the Jayhawk tennis team; they came to play.
With every member of the lineup recording a victory in either singles or doubles, the team was digging on some good vibrations coming out of the Hawaii Spring Invitational, which ran Jan. 16-20.
“I was really pleased with the overall ability of the girls to step up playing against some strong teams. With Florida State, Alabama, Sacramento State and Hawaii, it wasn’t an easy tournament by any means,” Coach Amy Hall-Holt said.
Kansan file photo
The Jayhawks have no reason not to be pleased with their impressive finishes. In singles action, senior Stephanie Smith and freshman Magdalena Torarczyk both cruised unscathed to perfect 3-0 records.
What may be more impressive about Smith and Torarczyk is the adversity they overcame to achieve such success. While Smith was forced to sit out the fall season with an ankle injury, Torarczyk, a late recruit from Poland, joined the team only a few days before the invitational.
Hall-Holt praised both players for their performances.
“With Stephanie Smith coming in from ankle surgery and winning all three of her singles matches, you know I was impressed with her performance,” she said. “As well as our new freshman that just got in four days prior to us leaving for Hawaii, and she came in and went undefeated in singles and had a good performance in doubles as well.”
Freshman Maria Martinez, who teamed up with Torarczyk to go 2-1 in doubles, also had a successful trip, finishing with a 2-1 record in singles. Also recording a 2-1 mark in doubles was the experienced tandem of junior Edina Horvath and senior Elizaveta Avdeeva, as well as freshmen Kate Goff and Emily Gorham.
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The first match, we are going to play against Arkansas and they are really good, so we are just going to go and play as hard as we can, I feel like we are really prepared mentally and we have nothing to lose.
-senior Elizaveta Avdeeva
Avdeeva, one of three seniors on the squad, talked about what it meant to be a role model for the younger players.
“I already went through it so I know how hard it is at the beginning when you’re a freshman, she said. “So I am just going to try to help the girls and show them that if you play hard it’s going to pay off.”
The Jayhawks will have to maintain their high level of play this weekend when they play Arkansas, as they will take on some stiff competition. The ITF collegiate rankings have Arkansas ranked 40th heading into this Saturday’s showdown in Fayetteville, and Tulsa ranked 44th before this Sunday’s matchup against the Jayhawks.
“The first match, we are going to play against Arkansas and they are really good, so we are just going to go and play as hard as we can, I feel like we are really prepared mentally and we have nothing to lose,” Avdeeva said.
It’s too early in the season to set any goals or make any predictions, but Hall-Holt gave reason to be optimistic about this year’s team. “I think so far the chemistry of the team is very good and I’m very excited about the group of girls this year and just the enthusiasm that they are bringing,” she said. “They see the upswing for other [KU] sports doing well and they want to be right there with all the fame that the other sports are getting.”
—Edited by Madeline Hyden
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