If winning the Atlantic Sun Conference title wasn’t enough, Buccaneer women’s tennis head coach Steve Brooks has upped the ante.
Brooks said his team is, “Capable of competing with the top 50 teams in the country.” ETSU has scheduled several ranked opponents for this coming regular season. “We are playing seven of the top 40 teams in the country this spring,” he said.
Brooks is returning six players who earned all A-Sun honors from last year’s team. Returning starter Olya Batsula earned first team all-conference accolades last season. “Our team understands even if we are not winning we are playing stronger competition and that will make us stronger,” Batsula said.
Members of the Lady Bucs tennis program faced ranked competition this past weekend at the St. Mary’s Classic in Knoxville. “The tournament was really good,” Batsula said. “We didn’t play [at] that level last fall.”
Getting the Lady Bucs ready for tough competition could pay dividends by year’s end. When the Bucs won the Atlantic Sun tournament they received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. There the women squared off against the 12th-ranked Vanderbilt.
The Lady Bucs raided Nashville with the fervor to upset the Commodores, but were turned back in the end. There will be a rematch since Vanderbilt is on the Lady Bucs spring schedule.
Along with experienced athletes who were part of the A-Sun championship team Brooks has a few newcomers who can make an impact.
Yevgeniya Stupak was a quick learner in the St. Mary’s Classic, snatching two wins. Sharvis Smith competed in the ETSU Fall Invitational last weekend and recorded two wins in singles action. Brittany Stewart and Whitney Trotter may earn a spot in Brooks’ rotation as the season progresses.
There seems to be an opening on one of the three doubles teams depending on who steps up. Elena Volobueva and Vita Moskaliova have played well together, while Tara Byrne and Batsula were paired for most of last season. Masha Ilina is the returning A-Sun player of the year. Ilina and the Lady Bucs will try to use the lessons learned from a tough non-conference season to win and advance in the NCAA tournament come spring.

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