| West
Windsor, N.J. - Considering four of his returning sophomores played
at the National Junior College Athletic Association Women's Tennis
Division III Championships as freshmen, Mercer County Community College
head coach Marc Vecchiolla believes his squad has just the right momentum
heading into the 2009 season.
"I
think they would be disappointed if they don't repeat that achievement,"
says Vecchiolla, who enters his 13th season guiding the Vikings.
The
Vikings finished fifth at the nationals in Tucson, Ariz., in May.
Rebecca Wolf (Pennington, N.J.), Kristina Holsman (Hamilton, N.J.),
Emily Dow (Princeton Junction, N.J.) and Maria Eldridge (Lawrenceville,
N.J.) all return from that squad, which went 4-3 in head-to-head
regular season matches and was the Region 19 Tournament runner-up.The
Vikings begin their season Thursday,
September
10 at Mercer County Park Tennis Center against Brookdale Community
College (3:30 p.m. start).
Wolf
is replacing the graduated Hillary Gall at No. 1 singles after going
11-5 in singles and 14-5 in doubles as a freshman. Holsman follows
at No. 2 singles and was 8-8 at singles and 5-8 at doubles as a
freshman. The two form the No. 1 doubles tandem and will complement
each other with their similar styles.
"She's
a gritty baseliner who battles for every point," Vecchiolla
says about Wolf. "She stays back and hits lots of balls. She
tries to set up the point and then win it with her forehand.
"Kristina
is very similar. She likes to hit lots of ball and stay back. Her
best shot is her forehand, too."
Dow
will play No. 3 singles after going 5-8 in singles and 7-7 in doubles
as a freshman. Eldridge takes over at No. 4 singles after capping
her freshman season (7-5 singles and 5-4 doubles) as Vecchiolla's
27th women's tennis player to earn All-American honors. She was
the national runner-up at No. 6 singles.
Sophomore
Joanne Zabodyn (Juliustown, N.J.) is a newcomer to the program who
opens the season at No. 5 singles. Other newcomers in the mix are
freshmen Sachiko Nishida (Princeton) and Shantelle Bacon-Jones (Trenton,
N.J). Dow and Eldridge will play at No. 2 doubles, while Zabodyn
will combine with one of the other newcomers at No. 3 doubles.
"I
want them to work hard, improve their game and have fun," Vecchiolla
says.
MCCC
will serve again as tournament host for the Second Women's Northeast
Regional ITA/Wilson Tennis Championships Friday, September 25 through
Sunday, September 27 at the Mercer County Park Tennis Center. Flight
A singles and doubles winners will qualify for the ITA National
Small College Championships October 16-19 at Copeland-Cox Tennis
Center in Mobile, Ala.
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