The BYU women’s tennis team will split up for the first time to participate in both the preseason Cal and Boise Invitationals this weekend.
“We want to look at different competitions and get the girls some different matches then the same thing every year,” head coach Lauren Jones-Spencer said. “It’s kind of a testing thing to see how it works.”
The Cougars will be represented in Berkeley by Desiree Tran, Meghan Sheehan-Dizon, Morgan Anderson and Mackenna Maddox. Aubrey Paul and Andie Young will represent the Cougars in Boise. Lisa Waldron will not participate in either tournament due to shin splints since the BYU Invitational last week.
The Cougars have participated in the Cal Invitational since 2008 and the level of competition at the invitational is what has the Cougars excited about competing in Berkeley again.
“They are really good players because Cal is a PAC-12 school,” Tran said. “There are so many good schools out there, so just having an opportunity to play those players is exciting.”
In Boise, the Cougars will face off against many of the same schools they played in the BYU invitational. This will provide the Paul and Young a chance to see how they’ve improved the last week of practice.
“It will be the same teams that we played here at the invite so it will be good to get some revenge and continue the dominance we had against them,” Paul said.
Tran and Sheehan-Dizon lost in the championship match of the BYU Invitational. Waldron made it to the singles finals in the consolation bracket, but was forced to withdraw due to her injury. The Cougars are looking forward to building on their results from the invitational and their last week in practice.
“We need to incorporate what we’ve done in practice. Emphasize footwork, sticking to the game plan and keeping the ball in,” Paul said. “Just taking advantage right off the bat and keeping in control of the point.”
The Cougars hope that these two events will help them prepare for a good showing at regionals in October.
