Lady Eagles set to open 2011 season on Saturday against Young Harris
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College women's tennis team opens its season Saturday will have a new-look thanks to departed All-South Atlantic Conference seniors Amanda Bartlett and Elizabeth Sneed.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The Carson-Newman College women's tennis team opens its season Saturday will have a new-look thanks to departed All-South Atlantic Conference seniors Amanda Bartlett and Elizabeth Sneed.
Instead, this fresh group of Lady Eagles will be led by junior Kylie Elliott (Maryville, Tenn.) as they try to improve on last season's 11-5 record and 5-2 conference mark.
Saturday, Carson-Newman hosts Young Harris College in the season opener. First serve is at noon.
Lady Eagles coach Jean Love expects Elliott to bounce back from a lackluster sophomore campaign. A strong fall season has prepared Elliott to take over the No. 1 spot on the C-N roster.
"Kylie Elliott really stepped forward and played really well in the fall," Love said. "She had a good first year, but was a little off last year. She's looking really good."
Elliott may have her work cut out for her to hold down the top spot. All-SAC second-team senior Taryn Cappadona (Kennesaw, Ga.) and rising freshman Stefy Stand (Equador) are all in contention and will round out the top three seeds when match play begins Saturday.
"There's probably not a whole lot difference between them," Love said. "I think Kylie has been a little more consistent in terms of match play and outside competition."
The Lady Eagles were picked to finish sixth in the conference in the recently released SAC coaches poll. Though some key seniors were lost, Love expects the 2011 Lady Eagles to be just as competitive as last year's team.
"I'm anticipating a better finish than that," Love said. "It will be critical for us to stay healthy and keep our best six players out there."
Returning All-SAC second team senior Stephanie Goode (Maryville, Tenn.) will hold down the fourth spot. Goode and reserve player Charli Thomas (Norman, Okla.) are the only seniors in this young group of Lady Eagles.
In addition to Stand, freshman Katie Brown (Douglasville, Ga.) and sophomore Tiffany Delias (Morristown, Tenn.) are expected to round out the top six players.
Junior Kate Walker (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.), sophomore Megan Wilson (Maryville, Tenn.) and freshman Devon Jennings (Summertown, Tenn.) add some much-needed depth.
Cappadona and Stand make up the top doubles team, with Elliotte and Goode as No. 2. Love not only pairs her teams based on tennis ability, but instead chooses players on who she feels will make the most effective team on the court. She expects her top two seeds this season to trade the No. 1 slot back and forth all year.
"Their personalities blend pretty well," Love said. "It just depends on the day to who's the top team."
For now, all eyes are on Saturday's match with Young Harris. With a new lineup and freshman on the court for the first time, it will be important to focus on the fundamentals.
"The key for us is playing good, consistent percentage tennis," Love saud. "We can't go for too much too soon and make too many errors. We need to get a feel for the match and then go from there. Mentally we're going to be excited, but hopefully we can settle down early and get into doing what we do. Even though it's our first match, hopefully we can put a lot of balls in play and get to where we feel comfortable on the court."
