Freshman Victoria Khanevskaya rushes toward the net in a match against Caitlin McKenna of St. Louis University on March 13. Half the Kansas tennis team will finish the season in Oklahoma, while the other half will finish in Kansas.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Most of the time, teams see the end of the season as a time to share together. Unfortunately for Kansas tennis, half the team will finish its last fall tournament in Norman, Okla., this weekend and the other half will end at a home event in Lawrence.
Four underclassmen — freshmen Sara Lazarevic and Vika Khanevskaya and sophomores Kate Morozova and Erin Wilbert — will travel today to Norman to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association central region tournament beginning tomorrow. At the same time, senior Kuni Dorn, juniors Maria Martinez and Kate Goff and sophomore Alie Dzuba will remain in Lawrence to host the University’s second and final tournament of the fall.
Not everyone on the team is ready to spend their last few days apart.
“It kind of sucks not being together, but that’s just the way it is,” said Wilbert, who went undefeated in both singles and doubles at the last KU tournament Sept. 25 to 27. “It’s not going to be the same without them, but we’ll be reunited,” she joked.
Dorn shares Wilbert’s feeling regarding the division of players.
“I don’t feel good about it, but if we need to do it, it’s fine,” Dorn said. “I’m kind of sad.”
This is Dorn’s last individual tournament as a Jayhawk, and she said that it’s really important for her to play well, especially since the tournament is at home.
Both players’ concerns mainly come from the shortage of a cheering section from other team members. Wilbert said that along with the rest of the squad, she will especially miss having Dorn with her while she competes in Norman.
“Kuni is always the loudest cheerer. I can always feel her presence,” Wilbert said. “She’s our senior leader. It’ll be different trying to manage without her.”
Many teams that will play in the Kansas tournament this weekend will be in the same situation. Players that qualified for regionals will depart for Norman, while the rest of their teams will make the trip to Lawrence.
“It’s not anything different because we do this every year,” coach Amy Hall-Holt said. “This is pretty common.” She said that most tennis players get used to being alone at tournaments while growing up, and are acclimated to the idea by the time they get to college.
Still, she knows the value of togetherness and being involved with the team atmosphere.
“It’s always good to have the whole team with you. It’s great to have that support around,” Hall-Holt said.
While the two events are going on, she and assistant coach German Dalmagro will stay in close contact regarding the scores.
“We might not call each other every ten minutes, but we’ll probably update each other at the end of the day,” Hall-Holt said.
Dalmagro said that about 25 teams will be represented in the regional tournament this year and the competition will be extremely tough. Schools represented will include Arkansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Saint Louis University and host team Oklahoma.
— Edited by Tim Burgess
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