Tuesday not only marked the first day of class for the spring semester, but also the first day of practice for the New Mexico women’s tennis team as it prepares to host the first match of the season against Colorado.
Kelcy McKenna is still in her first year as the new head coach, taking over the duties last July. McKenna said the team will feature three new faces on the court as well.
Freshman Ruth Copas joins the team from Dundalk, Ireland and transfers Andrea LeBlanc from Morehead State and Ludivine Burguiere from Virginia Commonwealth University.
McKenna said the team is ready to get back on the court and start playing matches. She said she is most excited about seeing the team play together and feed off each others’ energy, embracing the idea of playing for each other.
She said the team has a close relationship with the community and enjoys the support it provides to women’s tennis. The head coach said she hopes to continue the past success the team has enjoyed playing in Albuquerque.
“We are very enthused about playing in front of our home crowd,” she said. “We lost one match at home last year, so playing at home is a huge advantage for us.”
The Lobos enter the season as the defending Mountain West champion, but McKenna said the goal will be to take things one match at a time, showing improvement each week. She said that will be the best way for the team to prepare for conference play.
Rachana Bhat said the team is excited to get back on the court, but she doesn’t feel any added pressure coming in as defending champs. She said the approach remains consistent regardless of awards or titles.
“I don’t think there’s ever pressure to win or defend a title,” Bhat said. “I just think it’s just going out there and doing the best we can every day no matter what.”
Bhat said that there are some differences between fall and spring tennis. She said although athletes still compete for their school in the fall, players are put in separate draws and it’s more about individual play.
Spring tennis is much more team oriented, with all the teammates playing next to each other simultaneously. Each player has an opportunity to earn points for the team.
Colorado won some tight matches when they hosted UNM last year and edged out the Lobos 5-2. McKenna said Colorado will be a great first test and will show this new team the intensity level they will need to bring into every match in order to compete.
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McKenna said the team had been dealing with some injuries and the lineup will not be finalized and submitted until Thursday. The match will take place on Friday at 5:00 pm at the Linda Estes Tennis Center near the Lobo Football Stadium.
Robert Maler is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers cross country, tennis and track and field. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
