The ETSU women’s tennis team returned from a three-day trip to Nashville over the weekend. They started 2-0 on the weekend, after a 6-1 win vs. Lipscomb and a 6-1 win against Belmont, before the Bucs’ four-game win streak was snapped by No. 15 ranked Vanderbilt on Feb. 7, bringing them to a 4-3 record on the season.
“We feel pretty good,” said Ricardo Rojas, women’s tennis head coach. “Our three losses have come from 14th in the country, 15th in the country and another great team from the SEC…we’ve came out and gotten better each time. I’m very happy where we’re at, at the moment.”
ETSU’s No. 2 pair, Laylo Bakhodirova (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and Emilia Alfaro (Azul, Argentina), displayed their talents over the weekend, winning 6-1 vs. Lipscomb and 7-5 over Belmont, before losing a closely contested match vs. Vanderbilt.
When asked about how the start of the season will prepare the squad for conference play, Rojas was optimistic with the early performances his team has displayed.
“Everything we are doing now is to get us ready for conference play,” Rojas said. “We had those two pretty convincing and dominating wins, I thought we did pretty well. That’s the consistency we want to have going forward when March and April hits and we begin conference play.”
In a pandemic, many coaches would blame COVID-19 for any mishaps, but not Rojas.
“I think everyone is on the same boat to be honest. It’s not a positive or a negative, we’re just grateful to be able to play,” Rojas said. “We remind the girls that we never know what’s going to happen tomorrow, so give it your all and go play hard … we’re all in this together.”
The team has had a very road heavy schedule this season, with six of the first seven games being away.
“We’re ready for it,” said Rojas. “Whether we are at home or on the road, we’re just happy to be playing.”
The women’s tennis team faces the 1-3 Virginia Commonwealth University Rams on Feb. 12 in Richmond, Virginia.
