Women's Tennis Opens Fall Slate at Milwaukee Tennis Classic
9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 18, 2008
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The women's tennis team will travel to Milwaukee, Wis. to take part in the 33rd annual Milwaukee Tennis Classic held at the Western Racquet Club Sept. 19-21. Joining the Crimson Tide in the three-day flighted event is Texas A&M, Wisconsin and, host institution, Marquette.
All four programs will participate in both singles and doubles matches where a point system will be utilized to award champions in each discipline.
"The team is looking forward to our first fall tournament," said head coach Jenny Mainz. "This event will serve as a useful measuring stick and help identify possible doubles combinations. The team has been training with purpose and focusing on daily improvement. Our goal is to gain valuable match experience and identify areas that need more work."
Alabama returns six letter winners and welcomes two newcomers to the 2008-09 roster. The lone senior on the squad is Shelley Godwin, who recorded a 9-6 record in singles, primarily at the No. 6 position.
A trio of juniors returns this season including Paulina Bigos, Alice Tunaru and Bianca Svensson. Bigos spent much of her sophomore year at No. 2 and 3 in singles where she compiled a 16-18 record. She also competed in doubles at No. 1 and 2 gathering nine wins for the Tide. Tunaru competed at both No. 2 and 3 singles as well as all three positions in doubles last season where she recorded 23 wins combined. Svensson also gathered 23 wins for Alabama last year primarily at the No. 5 and 6 singles spot and No. 2 and 3 doubles positions.
The sophomore duo of Meritt Emery and Tiffany Welcher led the Tide in wins with 31 and 27, respectively. Emery held down the No. 4 singles slot in dual meets where she went 9-11. She also held a 9-10 record in doubles, primarily at the No. 3 position. Welcher was Alabama's No. 1 singles competitor where she scooped up a 17-16 mark overall.
Joining the Tide is Taylor Lindsey and Courtney McLane, who both boast impressive prep highlights. Lindsay was a two-time Class 6A Alabama state champion in singles and doubles, while McLane went undefeated in high school tennis competition at Brookwood High School in Lawrenceville, Ga.
"It's always nice to go play a fall event in a different part of the country," said Mainz. "It affords our team the opportunity to play unseen opponents and compete against different conferences. The Milwaukee Tennis Classic has historically been an excellent tournament with many strong teams represented."
Next up, Alabama will entertain at least 11 institutions at the 22nd annual Roberta Alison Fall Classic Sept. 26-28. Matches will be held at the Alabama Tennis Complex with first serve taking place at 9:00 a.m. (CST) on each day of play.
Players Mentioned
