While many people are preparing to watch Super Bowl XLIII, the Virginia women’s tennis team will be engaging in preparation of its own. With a pair of matches this weekend in Florida, the team will attempt to qualify for the National Team Indoors Tournament in two weeks. The squad needs to win both of its matches — against Tennessee and either Miami or Utah — to advance.
After a season-opening 6-1 win against Old Dominion and a 4-3 upset against No. 25 Texas Christian, Virginia (2-0), ranked in preseason polls at No. 41, is coming out with a vengeance.
“We want to try to get better every time we play,” Virginia coach Mark Guilbeau said. “Sometimes you want to get better every match during the match.”
Freshman Emily Fraser is one player who has made great strides thus far this season and hopes to do so this weekend, as well. Ranked No. 82 in singles preseason, she began the season in the No. 4 singles slot at the U.Va. Winter Invitational but moved to the No. 2 slot on the third day of competition. After winning her first singles match at her upgraded position in straight sets, she has held on to her spot ever since. In dual-match play this season, Fraser is 1-1, losing only to No. 49 senior Macall Harkins of TCU 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
“She’s a kid that came in the fall and right away ... didn’t look like a freshman,” Guilbeau said. “Emily’s played a lot of tennis, but the bottom line is, she’s a freshman, she’s a first-year. She didn’t look like that — she looked way beyond that.”
Fraser is also a force to be reckoned with in doubles competition. Partnered with junior Jennifer Stevens, the duo has risen to No. 32 nationally in doubles teams. Most recently, the two downed No. 25 TCU’s best doubles pair 8-5 as Virginia swept the doubles point.
“Emily is a great doubles player — her hands are incredible,” Stevens said. “If she can just move more at the net, I think she’s by far the best doubles player on her team. It’s great to play with her.”
Virginia’s roster is bolstered by another quality freshman, Lindsey Hardenbergh. This weekend’s opponents should take note; Hardenbergh already won her first tournament on the pro circuit in the fall and is on a four-match winning streak in the spring season. In the two dual matches, Hardenbergh lost a total of two games as she rolled in straight sets at the No. 4 singles slot. In doubles, Hardenbergh is undefeated at the No. 3 position. After starting the season playing with sophomore transfer Neela Vaez, she has found her niche with senior Maggie Yahner in dual-match play.
“She’s a fighter; she never gives up,” Stevens said. “She’s funny — she’s like in her own world out there.”
The cohesiveness of the doubles pairs is representative of the entire team as a working unit, an intangible factor that can have an impact on the outcome of a match — or even the entire season. For now, though, the team is concerned with sweeping this weekend’s matches so the players can head to the National Team Indoors Tournament in Madison, Wisc. Feb. 13 to 16.
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