The University of Colorado women’s tennis team has been practicing hard in anticipation for the upcoming season. They are ranked No. 56 in the nation heading into their spring matches, and head coach Nicole Kenneally has plenty of goals in mind for her team.
“With all our hard work, we are looking to come out and take care of our process goals, which are to practice hard every day and get everything out of what we’ve got,” Kenneally said. “That will lead us to hopefully achieving our outcome goals, like the NCAA tournament and a lot of success in the Big 12 Conference.”
Leading the Buffs in singles will be sophomore Monica Milewski, who went 9-3 during the fall season and is currently ranked as the No. 36 singles player in the country. Kenneally pointed out that tennis is a team sport, and that Monica will be one of many components to the team’s success.
“I feel as though everyone is going to be a key contributor,” Kenneally said. “The important thing in college tennis is that every match is worth the same, which is one point. Whether you are playing in the number one spot or number six, everybody is important. Right now, Monica has done a great job, and she is nationally ranked. We are looking for her to have a great season, as well as everyone else.”
Senior Martina Sedivec has taken on more of a leadership role with the team this spring, as she is the lone senior and the player with the most experience.
“I have talked to coach about being a leader for the team, and I think the best way to be a leader is to try to lead by example, so that’s what I do,” Sedivec said.
The Buffs play 15 nationally-ranked teams this season, and the Big 12 alone features nine teams in the top 75, although Sedivec thinks that CU can handle it.
“It will definitely be tough, but the Big 12 has a lot of good teams, and I think we will be ready,” Sedivec said. “Entering the season ranked 56th nationally is a good thing. We are ranked highly enough to have confidence, but not so high that we get too confident.”
The Buffs open the season Jan. 23 at the Air Force Academy.
