Big East Preview
April 16, 2008 07:58 PM | General
April 16, 2008
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The No. 10-seeded West Virginia University tennis team is set to begin the 2008 Big East Tournament when it takes on No. 7 seed St. John’s at 9 a.m. Thursday morning at the USF Tennis Courts in Tampa, Fla.
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| Stacey Percival and her teammates prepare for the 2008 Big East Tennis Championships at USF Tennis Courts in Tampa.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
The Mountaineers (14-8, 4-2) closed the regular season in strong fashion this past weekend, winning two out of three in league play to clinch the 10th spot in the tournament. West Virginia opened with a 7-0 shutout victory over Villanova on Friday and followed that up with a 6-1 win over Connecticut on Saturday before falling 6-1 to Rutgers Sunday.
Second-year Head Coach Marc Walters has been pleased with his team’s progress this season as he continues to build the program in his own vision. He has guided a team with good chemistry into one that has a stronger understanding of what he wants out of them every day.
“I really think we found some continuity in the coaching change from this year to last,” Walters said. “This is a close-knit group and they are starting to understand the different philosophies we have and what we are trying to do.”
That increased understanding from year one to year two has shown on the court, where the Mountaineers have improved across the board. The overall team record jumped from 13-12 overall in 2006-2007 to 14-8 this season, while the doubles record went from 40-33 to 38-27.
Walters used just four doubles combinations last year, but this season he has used nine different duos to increase the winning percentage of the doubles’ teams significantly.
“Our overall record improved but I was most pleased to see our doubles improve a lot this season,” Walters said. “Having a solid contribution from your doubles teams is one of the most important things in trying to field a competitive team in a league as deep and balanced as the Big East.”
Standing out this season is the No. 2 doubles tandem of Monica Lyskawa and Stephanie LaFortune. Those two have a team best 12-4 record.
“They just simply have a lot of fun playing with each other. The way they work everyday and the amount of mutual respect they have for each other has really helped,” Walters said. “They have a lot of confidence in each other and that is the key in doubles. It’s about getting off to good starts and they have done that a lot this year.”
WVU boasts five players with 20-win seasons for the first time since the 2003-2004 campaign as they get set to begin play in Tampa. Lyskawa leads the way with a 26-14 overall record. LaFortune is next with a 24-14 overall mark while Natalia Prinz is 25-17. Prinz is a team-best 13-8 in singles, with a 12-8 record at No. 3 singles and a 1-0 mark in her only appearance at No. 1 singles.
“We’ve had great individual results but it’s been a little bit frustrating that we haven’t been able to translate that into a little more team success,” Walters said. “We have lost several close 4-3 matches, but that happens. We just need to play our best tennis this weekend.”
The Red Storm (10-10, 4-3) enter the tournament playing their best tennis of the season, having reeled off seven consecutive victories to close the regular season including three straight against conference opponents.
West Virginia has not faced St. John’s this year but does have a 4-4 record against them all-time and boasts a 4-1 victory over the Johnnies the last time the schools met in the consolation round of last year’s Big East Championships.
“I like to have somebody fresh because we can prepare based on what we do well and not what they do or did in a previous match,” Walters said. “Sometimes in tennis you play a team once and it might be an abnormal day where that team plays different than normal and when you get them a second time you’re preparing the wrong way. It’s good to have fresh faces this time of year.”
As for the early 9 a.m. start time, Walters isn’t worried about his kids wiping sleep from their eyes as they battle the Red Storm. He believes the early start might actually give the Old Gold and Blue an advantage.
“We got down here early enough and we’re experienced enough that I am not worried about an early start time at all,” Walters said. “If anything it will be 65 degrees in the morning and probably 85 later in the afternoon so the early start will give us a bit of a break and give us a chance to maximize our fitness.”
The winner moves on to face No. 2 Louisville at 9 a.m. on Friday.
“We’ve only clicked on all cylinders a couple of times this year and it would be nice to do that this weekend,” Walters said. “If we can do that, we’ll be a pretty dangerous team.”
