The women’s tennis team is participating in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament this year. They have participated in the tournament every year and the finals take place in Indianapolis, Indiana. The previous recorded time when they participated in the GLVC Tournament was in the 2012-2013 season, where they won 5-0.
“ I don’t know why the website said we haven’t participated since 2013, because we qualify for [the] conference almost every year,” said junior physics major Casey Smith. “We have competed at the tournament every year that I’ve been here.”
The second to last match leading up to the GLVC Tournament Finals was the match against Maryville University on April 15, where they won 5-2 in St. Louis, Missouri.
For the first singles match against MU, it was Smith vs. MYU’s Billur Gonlusen. The first set resulted in Smith losing 5-7 to Gonlusen. The second set resulted in Smith winning 6-4. The last set resulted in Smith winning 6-3.
“I am hoping to do really well in singles,” said Smith. “Last weekend was successful and I played really well, so I’m hoping to carry that energy into the tournament.”
For the first doubles match against MYU, it was Smith and clinical mental health counseling graduate student Anastasiya Salenko vs. MYU’s Carolina Velazquez and Gonlusen. The match resulted in Smith and Salenko losing to their opponents 5-7.
“Same for doubles, we lost a tough match last weekend and then went unfinished in our second, so now we are even more determined to go out there and get a big win in our first round match against Rockhurst,“ said Smith.
Including Lewis, there are 8 schools participating in the GLVC Tournament including: Drury University, University of Illinois-Springfield, University of Indianapolis, McKendree University, Quincy University, Rockhurst University, and Southwest Baptist University.
The GLVC Tournament is the conference tournament for all sports to compete in. For tennis, it’s where the top four teams in each half of the conference meet and compete for the conference title. It’s from April 21-23.
“It goes from Friday until Saturday and is an elimination tournament, so if we lose a round we are out,” said Smith. “We are seeded second in our half of the draw, and we will take on the third seed Rockhurst in our first round match. “
The team generally has high hopes to do well in the tournament.
“I expect that we will do really well in the tournament,” said Smith. “It’s going to be very tough because we are playing the best teams, but we have a really good chance to make this a successful tournament.”
Phot Credit: Katelyn Leano
