Storm Exceeds Expectations

Storm+Exceeds+Expectations

by Ben Lucas

The women’s tennis team is nearing the end of its fall season having seen a measured improvement over last year.

Closing 4-11 in last year’s fall season, they are already 7-7 this year with two more competitions still to come.

Head Women’s Tennis Coach Lindsay Chase, in her third year here at Simpson, said a lot of this improvement was due to the growing experience of the team. She said she believes the team has matured to the point where it is able to show finesse and strategy in each match.

“We think more when (we’re) out on the court rather than just hitting the ball back and forth,” Chase said. “I’m excited about the talent the team will have next year. We’ve got the majority of our line-up coming back.”

Junior Tiffany Bost agreed with Chase about the team’s experience.

“This season we have improved a lot,” Bost said. “Comparatively from last year, most of us are returners and now have a full year of experience under our belts. This year we also made team conference, which was a goal we set at the beginning of the year that we reached.”

This experience helped lead the team to a tough win over Morningside, which Chase believed was the hardest victory to date in this season.

“Morningside was a tough team where it came down to the final match, especially because we were playing inside because of the weather,” Chase said.

Junior Allison Anderson agreed with her coach on the tension and importance of the meet against Morningside.

“It came down to the wire,” Anderson said. “It was also great because it put us up on a winning record, more than just one meet.”

In terms of what is still to come, the team will head to both the IIAC team and individual meets on Oct. 8 and 16 respectively. There, the Storm will face some old rivals before preparing for the spring season.

“For the end of the season I can see a lot of people going forward in the individuals,” Anderson said. “I can’t wait to see what Lindsay (Chase) has us working on in the spring.”

Bost also knows exactly what she needs to work on for next season, and she is preparing to improve her game and keep a tight mental focus.

“For spring I personally could work on my singles match and most importantly the mental aspect,” Bost said. “Tennis is every much a mental game as it is physical. You have to realize that when you are out on the courts by yourself you are also playing for a team.”

The women’s tennis team has a lot of hard work ahead of them, but it is ready, eager and confident in its ability to step up and make steady improvements for many seasons to come.