Tennis season looking forward
Season comes to an end, team prepares for future
By Tara Bargtis
ASST. COPY EDITOR
Evangel’s tennis season ended with a 3-5 loss against Lindenwood in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) Tournament last Friday and Saturday. The loss, however, did not deter the tennis team. “This season has been one of the best years so far for us as a team and for me personally. As a team we were more driven and determined to prove ourselves and our abillity,” Kristie Bond, senior, said.
“We knew we were more than capable to come in this year and create some big upsets for other teams and really just leave everything on the court, and I believe we did that,” Bond said.
“Before the season started we were more or less considered the underdogs, but now people know who we are and the girls will continue to grow stronger in these next few years, so they should have a reason to fear us,” Bond said. Now ranked 5th in the HAAC Conference, the tennis team hopes to learn from its wins and losses this year and come out ranked higher
next season.
There are several team members not returning next year. Bond, Alicia Martin and manager Justin Bear, seniors, will be graduating. Katie Schuller, junior, will also not be returning to play next season.
According to Bond, this season was an emotionally draining one. “This was a bittersweet year for me personally, knowing that this is it, and I wanted to fight through every match and leave my heart on the court when it was over, regardless of the outcome. I overcame and pushed through some really mentally tough matches and won, so I was very pleased with the season.
According to Bond, coach Debbie De Almeida gave the team a quote by John Wooden that said, “Don't allow what you cannot do to interfere with what you can do.”
“This quote was taped to my water bottle to remind myself during every match to focus on the things I can control, so I did just that, and the outcome was successful,” Bond said. “It didnt really hit me that my college tennis years were over until I walked off the court at regionals for the last time, but it was a feeling of accomplishment.”
Despite the ups and downs each season brings, Evangel's tennis team is looking forward to a bright future the next season as it prepares to welcome a number of new recruits.