Mary Washington Looks to Continue Run Atop CAC Women's Tennis Standings in 2014
The Mary Washington women's tennis team has long dominated the Capital Athletic Conference. The Eagles have won 21 of 23 team championships since the start of the CAC in 1991, including 10 straight.
Coach Patrick Catullo returns All-America candidates Lindsay Raulston and Shelby Harris to the top of the 21st-ranked Eagles' lineup.
UMW's road to another title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament is a little more difficult this season, as the CAC has added Christopher Newport, Penn State Harrisburg and Southern Virginia to a steady lineup of conference foes, joining Salisbury, St. Mary's, York and Frostburg State. All seven have the one goal in sight – knock off the Eagles.
Most CAC teams competed in a few events in the fall season, including the annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) regional tournaments, and a few have already played matches during the spring championship season.
Seven of the eight teams will be battling for a berth in the five-team 2014 CAC Championship Tournament. Southern Virginia, in its second year of a four-year NCAA provisional membership process, is not eligible for CAC post-season play until the 2014-15 athletic season. The CAC playoffs begin April 19 and culminate with the title match on April 26.
Here is a quick look at each team heading into the 2014 season:
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT will be led by Director of Tennis Eric Christiansen in his second season at the helm for the Captains. A young squad, the 2014 Captains feature just one returning senior and one returning junior. Senior Jodi Noland is the most seasoned CNU player returning to the lineup, and will likely play at one of the top spots this spring. The Berryville, Va. native is approaching 50 singles victories in her career and has played at all three doubles flights in the last three years. Angela Stallman is the junior, returning to the court after setting a new program record for singles win in a season last year. She also wrapped up 2013 with a 20-match winning streak. The Captains also feature six newcomers this year, with rookies Katie Carlson and Anna Chekalkina producing strong fall seasons.
FROSTBURG STATE returns a wealth of talent from last season for 12th-year head coach Stuart Swink. The Bobcats will be led by senior Amber Beckman as she enters the spring season as the team's No. 1 at both singles and doubles. Beckman won a total of 15 matches last year, including eight at No. 2 doubles. The sophomore tandem of Kayla Kirk and Kaitlin Lemmert also return as the No. 2 doubles team with eight wins at No. 3 a year ago.
MARY WASHINGTON enters the year looking to defend its CAC Championship under the tutelage of head coach Patrick Catullo. UMW returns 11 members from last year's squad including Lindsay Raulston and Shelby Harris. Both Harris and Raulston posted 20-win seasons, with Harris going 20-6 and Raulston going 20-4. The duo posted a 15-4 doubles record as well. Berri Flood and Chrissy Gaul return, looking to bolster the Eagles lineup, which ranks #21 nationally.
PENN STATE HARRISBURG will have their toughest competition lined up this spring as they participate in their new home, the Capital Athletic Conference. During the fall, they showed potential and promise for what is to come during final portion of their 2013-14 campaign. Leading the way for the Blue & White will be their senior captain Theodora Avramidis who was the team's leader in wins in both singles and doubles and the Lions will need her to continue her winning ways.
Greg Shedd takes over the ST. MARY'S program looking to build on last year's 13-11 overall record. The Seahawks top five players from last year return to the lineup, and all five are still underclassmen. Junior Emily Stumpfig and sophomore Emily Rost each compiled 13 singles wins last year while sophomore Anna Passaniti and junior Shannon Ramsey each had 11 wins. Junior Lauren Rost, sister of Emily, collected nine wins.
SALISBURY is led by Natalie Savage, the 2013 CAC Rookie of the Year. She was 10-1 when playing against the opposition's top-ranked player and finished the season 18-2 overall in singles play. Juniors Roxanne Alban and Katie Youlios look to solidify the positions behind Savage. Alban went 14-6 last season, while Youlios posted a 16-4 record in 2013. Alban and Savage went 9-1 in doubles play last year. Juniors Sam Babo (3-0) and Allison Lutz (9-0) likely will see more action this year and look to build upon perfect records from last year.
Although young, the SOUTHERN VIRGINIA women's tennis team is a group of hard workers and a very cohesive unit. Head coach Deidra Dryden has been impressed with how hard they work for both her and for each other and are always searching for ways to improve. Dryden expects freshman Lauren Morrison to compete at the No. 1 spot, citing her powerful play and hard work as her best components to compete at a high level. Sophomore Kirsten Laurence, the team's lone returner from the 2012-13 season, is working hard to improve her own game and is the glue for the team. The No. 2 through 7 spots are presently open for the taking, so Dryden is excited to see who can compete and represent the program well. The team is especially excited to play on its brand new tennis courts that were completed just weeks ago as the Knights have not hosted a dual meet in several years. The CAC will provide a tremendous challenge every time out, but the Knights are excited to go out and compete and represent the university well.
Note: As a second-year NCAA Division III provisional member, Southern Virginia is not eligible for the CAC team championship/standings. However, the Knights student-athletes are eligible for all CAC individual awards. Southern Virginia will be eligible for team recognition in all sports beginning with the 2014-15 academic year.
YORK broke in a dramatically new lineup in the fall and head coach Ryan Weber looks for that to pay dividends in the spring. Freshman Mckenzie Krout finished the fall with a singles record of 3-1 while fellow frosh Darian Naill went 2-2. Sophomore Emily Price also had a solid fall with a 2-2 singles mark. Megan Jones teamed with Price to go 2-2 at second doubles in the fall while Nikki Olson and Lauren Valles also played well at third doubles as they accumulated a mark of 2-2. Dea Vlahos will hold down the top spot in the Spartans' lineup while Price will be second. The lineup rounds out with Krout, Naill, Olson, and Emily Skutnik.