The womens’ tennis team traveled to Whitewater Wisconsin for their second tournament of the fall season. This tournament consisted of six teams including D1 schools Northern Illinois University and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The Flyers started off strong Friday morning, winning two of the three doubles flights. Graduate student Nastia Salenko partnered with junior Casey Smith to win the #1 doubles draw while junior Anabel Aguilar-Ramirez and freshman Benedetta Luccone teamed up to win the #2 doubles flight. Lastly, senior Jovana Vujanic and sophomore Sage Hills brought home a second place finish in the #3 doubles draw.
The team translated the doubles success into singles play as three out of the six girls won their respective singles draws. Salenko won the #1 singles flight, Aguilar-Ramirez won the #5 draw and Vujanic was the champion of the #6 draw. Additionally, Smith took 6th place in the #1 flight while Hills and Luccone each took home 4th in the 2nd and 3rd draws, respectively.
Transfer junior Anabel Aguilar-Ramirez was one of the two Flyers that won both their doubles and singles draw. The business analytics major completed her first two years at South Carolina State before joining the Flyers this year. So far, Aguilar-Ramirez has enjoyed her time as a Flyer. “Everyone in the team has been really nice, we get along with each other really well,” said Aguilar-Ramirez. “We are having a lot of fun!”
Over the weekend, Aguilar-Ramirez said that “hearing the cheers” of their fellow teammates helped the team find success. “We showed team spirit and kept up the energy very well throughout the tournament,” said Aguilar-Ramirez. “We were the loudest team, even when we were playing on different courts.”
The team support especially helped Aguilar-Ramirez during her last match of the weekend. In the singles final, Aguilar-Ramirez split sets with her opponent and went into a tiebreak for the match. “It was a long match. I think what made me win that match was the support that I had from outside but also the support that I was giving to myself,” said Aguilar-Ramiraz. “I decided to play the tiebreak smart but aggressive. I believed in my shots and it worked!”
Aguilar-Ramirez says that so far this year, “the practices have made me feel more confident in my game.” Daily tennis training combined with conditioning and lifting helps the team improve all aspects of their game.
The next and final tournament for the women’s team this fall is the Northern Illinois Invite over the weekend of Oct. 29.
Photo Credit: Somkene Ugwu
