Ben Smidt

The women’s tennis team continued its successful season Thursday as the squad swung its way to a 9-0 victory over conference rival UW-Stout.

The win, however, isn’t what the team is focusing on, coach Tom Gillman said.

Instead, the ‘Golds are looking to improve the mental aspect of this physical game.

“We’re learning to play more consistent mentally,” Gillman said. “We continue to see our challenge as an intellectual one.”

Intellectual challenge or not, the Blugolds rolled over Stout in Menomonie.

The team’s freshmen once again played a role, with Laurie Alonzo winning 6-0, 6-1 at No. 2 singles.

Freshman Katie Steffes also triumphed, defeating Rachael Weber of Stout 6-2, 6-1 in straight sets at No. 6 singles.

“For this match, the freshmen were much more calm and relaxed,” senior captain Megan Tauer said. “They really proved themselves.”

Youth and experience complemented each other well as Alonso and senior captain Alison Hover dominated at No. 1 doubles, winning 8-2.

The ‘Golds are focusing on their doubles work since the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Invite Sept. 7 and 8, sophomore Lindsay Lee said.

“We’ve been working a lot more in doubles this week,” Lee said. “We’ve been doing a lot more cutting and being a lot more aggressive.

Lee echoed Gillman and emphasized that wins and losses are not what matter.

Rather, she said the team should focus on improving overall.

“We were all able to work on the things we needed to,” Tauer said. “It’s just about playing well. We want to win for the right reasons and lose for the right reasons.”

The Blugolds didn’t focus solely on matches that affected the final score at Stout.

The unity and depth of the team assured that each match was important, Tauer said.

For instance, junior Molly Cadwell struggled at the start of her exhibition match but came back to win.

“She put aside the negativity and played how she wanted to,” Tauer said.

The women also applied mental toughness as they tried out new strategies on the court, Gillman said.

Stout, for its part, kept the team guessing, he added.

“They did test us with some different things,” Gillman said. “They’re going to keep getting better.

“It was good for us to see different things, be challenged mentally,” he said. “Our wins were more earned.”

The women will attempt to earn some more wins when they face Luther College (Iowa) Saturday at home.

“(Playing Luther) is always an exciting match,” Gillman said.

The team has a lot of respect for Luther and its program, he said, and they have to really go in ready to play.

While Luther may be a challenge, he added, the team must be tested to improve.

“Luther will probably be one of our toughest matches this year,” Lee said.

Tauer agreed.

“We know they got some good freshmen just like we did,” she said. “But they also lost some seniors, which we didn’t.”

Lee and Tauer said they look forward to facing Luther on their home turf.

Playing at home can be an advantage, but it’s not the most important thing, Gillman said.

“It doesn’t give you such an advantage that you don’t have to show up.”