Women’s tennis sweeps two teams during weekend tournaments
Blugolds finish their last round of regular conference play with a 6-1 record
Photo by Gabbie Henn
Womens tennis dominated once again as they were on the home advantage in the John & Fay Menard YMCA Tennis Center.
The UW-Eau Claire women’s tennis team won their fifth and sixth consecutive matches over the weekend, bringing the team a conference record of 6-1.
On Friday, the team competed at home against UW-Stevens Point. The Blugolds gained a 3-0 lead after doubles play, where each duo won 8-0. In singles action, the team continued to dominate with six Blugold victories, ending the day in a 9-0 sweep.
The next day, the team once again competed at home, but this time against UW-Oshkosh. The Blugolds began the meet by sweeping three doubles matches. The Blugolds then went on to win the six singles matches in straight sets, bringing the team to their second sweep of the weekend.
Natalie Wijesinghe, a third-year, said she was pleased with the team’s performance.
“We were supposed to win each of those matches, but we came out for each one ready to go, and I think that was what helped us win so handily,” Wijesinghe said.
Head Coach Thomas Gillman echoed Wijesinghe’s sentiments coming out of the weekend tournaments.
“I think it’s really gratifying to see the doubles teams coming together,” Gillman said. “They’ve got really good chemistry this year. It’s great watching the team continue to get better, especially seeing the younger girls improving.”
Next weekend, the Blugolds will be competing in the WIAC Conference Championship tournament at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in Madison, Wis. Wijesinghe said while this week’s practices are important in terms of staying in shape physically, the focus of this week will be getting the team into the best place they can be mentally.
“The team is really excited about the conference tournament coming up this weekend,” Wijesinghe said. “We have put in a lot of time to be as prepared as possible, and we are ready to go. We have a good chance of winning it this year and everyone is really motivated to compete their hardest.”
Kopke can be reached at [email protected].
Lea Kopke is a fourth-year journalism and German student. This is her seventh semester on The Spectator staff. She plays the clarinet in the Blugold Marching Band and recently relearned how to ride a bike with no hands.
