Alex Gasick, Sports Editor
Although summer has come to an end, the sun figures to shine brightly on the Lewis women’s tennis team throughout the 2011 season.
The Flyers return with all but one player from last year’s team, which finished second in the GLVC.
Of course, a team having success one year doesn’t guarantee success will come in the future. However, Head Coach Brett Bridel is pleased with where the women’s team seems to be early in the 2011 season.
“We’ve looked good in practice and I think we’re fit and ready to go,” Bridel said. “We were successful last year, and we definitely feel we’re a little stronger this year.”
The one newcomer on the roster is freshman Brianna Markgraf. Bridel is pleased with her progress thus far and expects her to be a solid contributor.
“Brianna is a very athletic player, and she should defi- nitely help us out this year,” Bridel said.
Bayley Brown, Katie Hargrove, Zsofia Kranczicj, Zsofia Lanstiak, Kendra Mills and Jody Wagner fill out the rest of the roster for the Flyers.
Depth certainly figures to be a strong suit for the Flyers in 2011, as Bridel expects all to be key contributors, noting that their lineup is not yet etched in stone and is subject to change at any time.
While earning a conference title and garnering national recognition is certainly on his mind, the last thing Bridel wants to do is put unneces- sary pressure on the team.
“As far as expectations and goals, we just want to go out and play the best tennis we can every single time out there,” Bridel said. “The main thing is to make sure we’re prepared, ready and fit and the rest will take care of itself.”
The men’s team heads into the season in a different situation than the women after losing three senior starters to graduation. The Flyers lost in the first round of the GLVC tournament last year.
“We lost three really good, tough players, so we’ll have to work,” Bridel said.
Though the Flyers lost some key contributors, they return Jesse Hardacre, Nick Heidenfelder, Matt Heidenfelder, Brandon Tilton, Mi- chael Wojnarowski and Uno Lapimaa. They have one newcomer in freshman John Richert.
Lapimaa will lead the Flyers, as he has been named GLVC Player of the Year two years in a row. In 2010-2011, Lapimaa was 23-1 in singles play, including 5-0 in GLVC play and a combined 20-3 in doubles.
Of course, for the team to have success, everyone on the roster will have to contribute. Bridel is confident that will happen.
“I’ve been impressed so far,” Bridel said. “If we stay on course and do the things we’re supposed to do, we’ll be fine.”
Photo provided by Steve Woltmann.
Alex Gasick
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