WOMEN'S TENNIS PREVIEW: Youth to be Building Blocks for Women’s Tennis Success

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Beginning its season on Saturday, the Eckerd Triton women's tennis team is set to travel to Lakeland to compete against Southeastern University as head coach Ben Maxwell looks forward to his young team building towards success.

Five players from the 2014-15 roster graduated, causing many voids left to be filled. The Tritons must now do so with the lack of a senior presence, but Maxwell does not see his team missing out on leadership thanks to junior Emily Fridrik.

"Emily is looking to have a good year in a top position in both singles and doubles," he said. "She's such a great leader as our team captain, and I think the team looks up to her as a great role model."

On the court, Fridrik recorded five victories at third singles while also picking up four wins at second doubles with her sister, Erika. Returning along with Fridrik are sophomores Laurence Bourgault and Isabella Wong; however, Bourgault only saw action in four contests last spring while Wong did not compete. Three freshmen - MaryAnn Aaron, Madeline Carlson, and Gabrielle Hartman - round out the lineup.

The inexperience and lack of depth might be a challenge, but it is one that Maxwell and company are willing to endure.

"Having six women is a challenge, but it's also great because all six deserve to play and all six want to play," he said. "They train hard day in and day out like there are ten players on the team, and they are all deserving of a starting position on the team. I'm looking forward to having a season with them."

After a long break from the end of the fall season, the spring season begins this Saturday at Southeastern in Lakeland and Maxwell is excited for his team to be able to showcase where they stand competitively.

"We're all ready to get the season started. It's a long time from when we stop at the end of fall to the start of spring," he said. "We're about a month and a half into practice now, so I think we're all itching to start the season and get into the swing of things."

After contests against Webber International and Ave Maria to finish the February schedule, EC will have plenty of opportunities to get match experience as March will be a busy month with 12 contests. Travel will be kept to a minimum as 10 of those matches will be played at the Dick Bullard Courts on campus with many of the opponents visiting for their school's spring break. In fact, the Tritons are on the road just seven times all season, a factor that could play a large role in keeping the lineup healthy throughout the year. The span will also provide opportunities for the women to gain in-match experience in order to ready themselves for the difficult conference schedule.

"It's why we play and why we are in an elite conference. We need to get match play to get tough for the season and have our hard work pay off," Maxwell said.

The highly-competitive field that is the Sunshine State Conference includes last year's national runner-up, Barry, at the top. The Tritons were winless over their eight matches last season. Though not an official SSC contest, provisional member Embry-Riddle (Fla.) joins the conference schedule after finishing the 2015 season advancing to the NAIA national quarterfinals.

"We're in a very tough conference. We'll go into each match with nothing to lose and a great attitude looking to compete with some of the best Division II teams in the country," said Maxwell. "It's not only a challenge but it's very rewarding to be able to challenge some of these high-ranked teams."

Conference play is set to open on March 6 in a home contest against Saint Leo scheduled for an 11:00 am start.

Maxwell is ready for the season to begin this weekend and for his team to prove its toughness.

"This weekend will be a great indicator of how tough this season can be while showing how competitive we can become."

---

1. Staying match tough: In order for his team to succeed, Maxwell believes his players must be able to learn from every match whether it comes from a big win or a bad loss.

2. Staying healthy: With just six players on the roster, staying healthy is at an utmost importance. If just one person is unable to compete, that would put the Tritons down 2-0 without playing a single point, so they must be able to take care of their bodies and utilize the light travel schedule.

3.Implementing practice: Coming from the fall practices and events to early spring practices, Maxwell hopes his players will be able to use the tips they have been given throughout their matches.February 20: Eckerd at Southeastern
As the season-opener, this contest could provide an outlook for what the remainder of the season has in store. The Fire are 2-1 on the year and have won two straight after dropping their season-opener, 8-1. Eckerd was 3-0 against common opponents while Southeastern finished 2-1 during the 2015 season.

March 2: John Carroll at Eckerd
The first contest in March kicks off a span of 10 home events in 11 contests as the Blue Streaks from John Carroll visit St. Petersburg. Last season, the Tritons were victorious, 9-0, and look to make it two in a row over the Blue Streaks.

April 14: Barry at Eckerd
The Buccaneers enter the 2016 season as the reigning national runner-up after being defeated by Armstrong State, 5-2, in the championship match. A win over Barry would certainly be monumental and could provide a boost in momentum heading into the final three regular season matches.