Junior Natalie Duran successfully won her singles match and her doubles match with junior Lucia Bustamante on No. 2 court where they won 7-6.
Jonathan Rhodes/The Lion's Roar
The Lady Lions tennis team started their spring 2017 season with a 5-2 victory over the Louisiana State University of Alexandria Generals. The team seemed nervous for their first match of the season, explained how the teams’ attitude affected the game.
“We looked scared to start and that cost us,” said Head Coach Jason Hayes. “For us to play our best tennis, we really need to be relaxed and confident. But sadly, we went out and we played very scared.”
Only two of the three doubles matches went the Lady Lions way. Juniors Dalina Dahlmans, Fleur Holtkamp and Natalie Duran won their doubles and singles matches.
“LSU of Alexandria is a good team and they got some really good players and they got a really good coach,” said Hayes. “If we are not playing at our best level, then it is a very, very competitive match. I think this team will play more relaxed in the future. But, we played tight and we played nervous, which means they care. It’s good that we are nervous and that we care, but we got to get away from that and focus on just playing the tennis and leaving our nerves in the locker room.”
Despite the cooler weather, Hayes does not think it had any effect on the Lady Lions performance last Saturday.
“It’s the same for both teams,” said Hayes. “We have taken a lot of precautions. The girls have warm weather clothing and we really had a good approach to what we were doing. We knew it was going to be cold, we came to the court to hit a couple of days ago in very similar temperatures and we were able to make the adjustments.”
The Lady Lions will go on the road for the first time this season on Friday at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on Feb. 30 at 3:30 p.m. Correcting the mistakes made in the previous game will be the goal for the Lady Lions this Friday.
“We have got a long way to go,” said Hayes. “We basically make the same mistakes day in and day out and we have got to change that. If we have to practice harder or be more aggressive, then we will. We are going to find a way to break through that. The good thing is these kids work hard. They are good kids. I know they are not happy with how they played. So, I know they are going to be ready to go come next practice.”
Junior Fleur Holtkamp came back from being a set down to win her singles match 1-6, 6-1, 6-1. She was also victorious in the doubles category with her partner junior Dalina Dahlmans.
Nikisun Shrestha/The Lion's Roar