THE-STANDARD.ORG Brayden Ash Sports Reporter @Brady_A_Ash The Missouri State tennis Bears bring a lot of experience competing in collegiate matches into the upcoming season. The team was starting to get back on track after a rough start to the season in the 2019-2020 season when the remainder of matches were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Bears had won two of their last three matches to bring their record for the season to 4-7. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA granted an extra year of eligibility to spring athletes. This helps the tennis Bears a lot as they return the entirety of last year’s roster. “We had a lot of experience last year,” head coach Mallory Weber said. “The freshmen got to get their feet wet with college tennis, so it’s kind of like they got a year under their belt and they get to hit reset and do it again.” Weber said she is excited about the depth the team is bringing back for this season. The biggest goal of the team is to win the Missouri Valley Conference championship and compete in conference matches in April. Weber said she is unsure of what the schedule will look like, so she plans to use whatever non-conference matches the team has to prepare for the conference season. The team is bringing in three new players, two freshmen and a transfer student from the
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Women’s Tennis looks to use returning chemistry in 2020
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Alye Darter plays against Southeast Missouri State in March 2020. Darter is a graduate student and will return with an extra year of eligibility. University of Alabama at Birmingham, without and Weber said she is excited to get them on campus and see the impact they make on the lineup. losing anyone from last year’s roster. Transfer Hana Sisirak and returner Alye DartThe freshmen, Tiffani Nash and Mary Houston, committed early in the fall 2019 semester, er are both starting graduate school at MSU and
decided to use the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to play another season. Weber said the team will have a great core of senior leadership. “(Darter) was a senior last year and already has that experience and leadership under her belt,” Weber said. “(Sisirak) brings experience from UAB and that will help her be a leader even though this is a new environment for her. Then we will have Ellie Burger and Claire Martin as seniors as well, and they have both played a lot of matches over their three years.” Weber said she is looking forward to establishing some form of a normal routine with the team in the fall. Throughout the pandemic, she said the team stayed in touch and communicated every week. They have done online activities related to mental training and watching tennis related videos and other similar exercises. The players have been practicing individually however they can. Weber said some players came down to Springfield to do workouts over the summer, but she was not allowed to be involved in those workouts because of NCAA rules. The plan for the upcoming year is to use the fall season to find the team identity and build team chemistry. “It’s really helpful that we have a lot back from last year,” Weber said. “I think it’s going to be a little more cohesive and consistent because we didn’t lose many people and we are adding a few new faces.” Tournament play is likely to start in September while the regular season will start in January 2021.
