By Jake SimpsonThe Daily Northwestern
It’s moving day for the women’s tennis team.
“(The players) are all fighting for a lineup spot,” coach Claire Pollard said. “We’re going to leave out some very good players this year.”
This weekend’s Seminole Invitational in Tallahassee, Fla., is the Wildcats’ final preseason tune-up. It is the team’s last chance to shake off the rust from a long offseason and gain match experience before next week’s season opener against DePaul.
Most importantly, the invitational is the last tournament before Pollard sets the singles and doubles lineups for the start of the season.
“There’s a lot of pressure on the everybody because they’re all trying to prove to us that they should be in the lineup,” she said.
Pollard will switch up the doubles teams to find the best lineup before the dual matches begin. Even the star tandem of senior Alexis Prousis and sophomore Georgia Rose will be separated as Pollard tries to stumble upon a “silver bullet” duo.
“I know how good Prousis and Rose are,” Pollard said. “Now I need to find out if there’s anything better.”
This weekend serves as the players’ final opportunity to show the coach their best tennis and stake their claim to a lineup spot. And each player has different obstacles to overcome.
Prousis and Rose have appeared rusty after a long layoff and will use the weekend to fine-tune their play. Pollard said both players are notoriously slow starters and need to play a few matches, a statement reinforced by the pair’s strong performance in last year’s postseason.
Freshman Samantha Murray played superbly throughout the preseason. Last week she stepped onto the national tennis scene, beating elite competition to reach the semifinals of the National Collegiate Tennis Classic. Murray’s focus will be the same as it has been throughout the preseason: playing quality tennis.
“(Samantha) is just a tough, determined player who doesn’t do a lot of talking but really gets the job done,” Pollard said. “She does the talking with her racket.”
The rest of the squad will be trying to secure a spot in the lineup. Coaching a team she called, “the deepest we’ve ever had,” Pollard will be forced to bench a number of quality players. How the team performs in Tallahassee will determine who plays in next week’s dual opener against DePaul.
Reach Jake Simpson at [email protected].
