Making Progress
April 13, 2010 10:40 AM | General
April 13, 2010
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University’s women’s tennis team has made dramatic improvement during the past four years, and two of its star players have played key roles in the program’s development.
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| Monique Burton celebrates a point with teammate Stephanie LaFortune during a home match last fall.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks photo |
Senior Stephanie LaFortune and redshirt junior Monique Burton joined the Mountaineers in 2006 when they started competing at the bottom of the lineup. Gradually, the two worked their way to the top where they now play this season.
Burton joined the squad as a walk-on in hopes of earning a chance to compete. Not only did she earn a spot in the lineup for the following season, but she was named the most improved player in 2007 for her hard work and dedication during her freshman year.
“I came here not even knowing if I was going to play tennis or not, but I knew I wanted to stay in West Virginia,” said the Fairmont, W.Va., native. “WVU is known throughout the United States so I knew I’d get better recognition coming here and I loved the school.”
She proved herself enough to earn a spot as the No. 4 and 6 singles competitor during her sophomore year when she went 2-0 and joined her freshman teammate, Ashley Pilsbury, as the No. 3 doubles pair capturing 11 wins for the season.
LaFortune was recruited by Coach Marc Walters during his first season at WVU. The Longueuil, Quebec, native stood out on the squad for her solid hitting and her quickness on the court.
The left-handed hitter jumped into action right away, capturing 15 wins her freshman year only to improve to 27 wins in her sophomore year while playing in the No. 4-6 singles and No. 1 and 2 doubles spots.
Both athletes continued to improve into their junior year when Burton captured eight wins in the No. 3-6 spots, and LaFortune contributed with five victories in the No. 1-3 spots. By request from LaFortune, the two athletes were put together as the No. 2 doubles pair that year and became one of the strongest pairings in the conference with a 17-6 record.
“I think we meshed well as soon as we were put together,” Burton added. “We know how each other hits and our styles work well together in matches, and it was just a plus that we were already good friends.”
After showing their strength as a team during the 2008-09 season, the duo stayed together to compete as the No. 1 doubles team this year.
“We have been here together all four years and we both have played in the top of the lineup,” said LaFortune. “I think now our coach has enough confidence in us to put us in the No. 1 spot and know that we’ll try our best.”
The pair continues to be a handful for any team, including Pitt, which West Virginia down 5-2 on Pitt’s home courts earlier this season. The duo helped secure the doubles point with an 8-6 victory over Pitt’s No. 1 pair Elizabeth Adams and Shannon Benic. Burton also contributed a 6-1, 6-2, singles victory over the Panthers’ Adela Aprodu.
“Beating Pitt this year had to be our best memory together just because they are our biggest rival,” said LaFortune. “It was our final year together so I’m glad we beat them after losing to them for the past three years.”
The team has two remaining road matches against Villanova and Rutgers this weekend before competing at the Big East championships in South Bend, Ind.
Last weekend, West Virginia won its 15th match of the season against Seton Hall while improving to 6-1 in conference play. The 15 victories equal the most wins in a season in the four years Walters has been at WVU, and is one victory shy of the 16 victories produced by the 2005 team that represents the most wins for the program since the Mountaineers joined the Big East in 1996.
Notre Dame, ranked sixth this year, has historically dominated the Big East but the conference has two other programs ranked among the nation’s top 26 this year in USF (No. 19) and DePaul (No. 26). The Mountaineers have not faced any of those teams during the regular season because the Big East does not play a round-robin women’s tennis schedule.
“It’s been a long season and sometimes it gets easy to lose focus and get down on ourselves,” LaFortune admitted. “We just need to realize that we can’t get mad at each other because we have to work together to keep winning our matches.”
Both athletes are looking forward to finishing the season on a positive note and are confident they can perform well at this year’s Big East Championships.
“We played really well last year at the Big East so I think we have a good chance at beating a lot of the teams we’ll play there,” said Burton.
Unless the Mountaineers pull off the unthinkable and win the Big East, the seniors will graduate and the remaining players will be asked to step up and fill their shoes in 2011. However, this group has grown and improved together during the past four years athletically and academically, and all signs point to continued success in the future.
