The Women’s tennis team was shut out 9-0 on Saturday in a match they will look to bounce back from. They came up against a nationally-ranked Swarthmore squad who, earlier in the morning, also dispatched Immaculata University 9-0. With the departure of two seniors last year, the team added four new players, leading the team to create some chemistry. However, they seem to be taking to the change quite well.
“The team chemistry has been a good and welcome change. We got a great recruit in Caroline Maglaras [‘23], and she has the potential to help put this team on the map,” said Caroline Armknecht ‘22. “Bringing on more girls has been great to give us a higher team energy and a larger support system overall.”
These teammates have been great motivates to each other so far as their season takes off. Also, the women seem to be feeding off of each other’s energy. “Caroline is my doubles partner, and her energy is a great change for me, as it forces me to get my head in the game and work harder to be a great partner because she gives her 100 percent 24/7,” said Armknecht.
So far, the program is in the midst of a rebuild, as they have had to add some new pieces. While that can be annoying to deal with, the team has embraced the process. “This season is a big building season for us. We have a fairly young team and only anticipate losing our number six next year. I hope that we can pull out a few more wins than last year, but I have a bigger hope that we can work hard on improving the players that we already have,” said Armknecht. “This team has a huge amount of potential, and if we put in the work at practice and throughout the season to hone in our skills, I could see next year being great.”
Rebuilds can typically be a frustrating period for an athlete, but the team has been handling the situation like professionals and with great attitudes towards the game and the team. This is surely a positive sign for their future.
The team has had to deal with lots of adversity at the beginning of the season, since the tennis coach has been forced to spend time with both the men’s and women’s teams with no full-time assistant. “This season, our coaching staff was supposed to get an assistant coach, as tennis is currently the only team without an assistant and the only sport with one full time coach for both the men and the women,” said Armknecht. “The assistant position fell through, which is truly unfortunate; however, we do have a volunteer assistant that comes to practice a few times a week. The small coaching staff we have makes it difficult for us to get progress in at practice and stay motivated, because one coach can only watch so many players and offer helpful critiques.”
Even with the small staff, Coach Toedter has been spreading encouragement to the players. “Coach Toedter sees that we could be a great team as well, and I believe that if the players and Coach Toedter give our 100% in practice with drills, productive match play and one-on-one work, then the spirits of the players and success of this season will grow. If Coach Toedter gives his all to try and make us better, then that will motivate us to give our all too,” Armknecht said.
Even with the adversity and new faces, the team is taking their games and practices in stride and are focusing on the little things. “Practice makes perfect. The more we all play together and practice as doubles teams in match situations, the more we can work on building team chemistry,” Armknecht added.
