The Santa Clara women's tennis team faces two opponents in consecutive home matches at the Degheri Tennis Center this Sat., Jan. 24. They open the spring with the Academy of Art at 10 am before lining up against Sonoma State at 2 pm. Both are matches that were recently squared away on the schedule.
"We wanted to start a little earlier," said Bronco head coach Ben Cabell. "We had them in the works a little bit and we finally got them nailed down."
Academy of Art and Sonoma State are both members of the Division II Pacific West Conference. Though both Academy of Art and Sonoma State are Bay Area teams, neither school has been on Santa Clara's schedule in several years. The back-to-back matches are a first, but are key in starting off the spring right.
"It's the first time we have two matches in a row like this so we're looking forward to seeing what that's like," said Cabell. "It's been a long fall of getting ready and we're excited to actually put it to work."
A demanding fall schedule had the girls on the road every other week from late September through early November. They tried out 14 distinct doubles teams over four tournaments and strove to integrate the players into one squad. With newcomers making up half the women's tennis lineup, the team will look not just to its steady veterans, but also to its energetic earlybirds.
New to the team this year are sophomore Nabila Farah and freshmen Zeina El Tawil, Riley Morgan and Danielle Zinn. All four gained experience in the fall, but will be getting their first involvement that goes in the team's win-loss columns in the upcoming matches.
"Our four new players haven't played a dual match yet for Santa Clara, and we're very excited to get them out on the court," added Cabell.
Returners from last year's team include sophomore Daniella Silva, juniors Chelby Cooke and Delphine Rouvillois along with graduate student Elaine Chesoni. The team will lean on its veterans for experience and maturity. Still, the rookies will be carrying their fair share of the weight; all eight members of the team registered a win this fall in either singles or doubles, and each will hold a responsibility going forward.
The Broncos are seeking to make a mark in the WCC and NCAA tournaments in late April and May. Their path starts this weekend at home.
"We're looking to get two good W's on Saturday," said Cabell. "We're really excited to play."
Follow SCU women's tennis on Twitter at @scuwtennis.
Check back to SantaClaraBroncos.com for news and updates on the women's tennis 2015 campaign.
GO BRONCOS!
