After two consecutive losses, it is hard for a team not to be disheartened, especially with two tough in-conference matches looming.
Although the No. 22 Virginia women’s tennis team is in this situation following ACC losses to Georgia Tech and Clemson last weekend, “disheartened” is not how the squad would describe itself.
Instead, the team (10-4, 3-2 ACC) has attempted to use the losses as fuel, focusing on building team strength as it heads into matchups with No. 5 Miami and No. 25 Florida State in Charlottesville this weekend.
Strengthened individual skills and an ability to implement specific in-game mechanics will prove critical if the Cavaliers wish to reverse their recent conference record against Florida State (8-6, 1-4 ACC) Friday and ACC-leader Miami (16-3, 5-1 ACC) Sunday.
The Seminoles will approach Friday’s match with confidence after taking down No. 18 North Carolina in a 5-2 upset last weekend. Virginia barely triumphed against Florida State last year, winning 4-3.
Virginia also must be wary of Miami sophomore Julia Cohen, who was recently tabbed ACC Player of the Week for the second time this year. On the doubles side, the Cavaliers will keep tabs on the Hurricane duo of sophomore Michaela Kissell and junior Laura Vallverdu. Ranked No. 24 in the country, the pair contributed to the team’s 5-2 win against Duke last weekend.
To deal with these challenges, team leader freshman Emily Fraser recently suggested implementing a new system that forces the team to work on specific areas of its game each day.
“I thought it [would] be a good idea for each of us to submit three to five things that we all know that we need to work on the next three days because we don’t have very much time leading up to next weekend,” Fraser said. “I felt like if we had a definite list written out of what everyone wanted, we could all be aware of what was on that list for each person and we could really push each other to do those things.”
Fraser will work on forward movement and extra slice in her volleys, her serve and the follow-through movement to her backhand, while junior Jennifer Stevens will commit her attention to her forehand, clearing her right elbow on her backhand and mixing in trickier moves.
The coaching staff is impressed with the team’s, specifically Fraser’s, initiative, noting that the lists the players make themselves are much more significant than lists that coaches make.
“It’s very impressive, especially for an underclass kid, to step up and lead that way,” coach Mark Guilbeau said. “And that’s what coaches are searching for so desperately is to find kids and teams that will take ownership and take accountability for what they’re doing out there.”
In fact, the coaches have tried to give the team less guidance.
“We’ve actually tried to scale back how much we’ve been delivering to them,” Guilbeau said. “What we’re trying to do is have them coach themselves a little bit more at this stage of the season. They’ve heard a lot from us and now maybe they can take that, take their own, and maybe put it together and lead themselves a little bit more.”
After the Clemson match last weekend, one of the mechanical aspects Guilbeau thinks could benefit the players’ games is the drop shot.
A skill that requires placing the ball directly past the net with a lot of backspin or slice, a good drop shot is nearly impossible for most opponents to reach because the ball bounces so low and near the net. To set up a successful drop shot, a player needs to hit the ball deep, approach the net to push his or her opponent back and then attack at the net.
“If we can be in a position where the drop shot can be used effectively,” Guilbeau said. “I think it’ll be a great sign that we’re doing the other things that we really need to do first and foremost.”
But the team is not simply counting on the drop shot to win against Miami and Florida. The Cavaliers hope their individual preparation will pay off during both matches.
“I think for each team we play, it’s a different matchup and the matches play out differently,” Guilbeau said. “But to get it real clear, both of these teams are great teams.”
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