The women’s tennis team has found success in the month of February under new head coach David Redding, posting wins over Hendrix College on Feb. 10 and Delta State University on Feb. 11.
Redding was recently hired as the head of the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Harding, after former coach Marco Ruiz took a job with Wilson Sporting Goods in Chicago. Redding was a member of the Harding tennis team from 1979-83 and previously worked as the director of tennis at the Northwood Club in Dallas.
According to sophomore tennis player Emily Faulkner, the changes brought by Redding have had a positive impact on the team.
“The biggest challenge is playing with a new coach,” Faulkner said. “I think it’s really just affected everyone — just the way he conducts — things, and practices have been a lot harder. He just pushes us really hard because he’s really passionate about what he does. I think we have a really good shot at winning conference this year with all the work he’s putting into it.”
For former player Sydni Sansom, who is a family friend of Coach Redding, the new coaching style brings a whole new level of respect to the team.
“When Redding came in, I think he was able to just look at the team with fresh eyes,” Sansom said. “He brought a new perspective. The (women) are definitely a team to watch, and I’m going to cheer for them all the way to the championship.” According to junior Arielle Butler, the team is confident going into the conference season, with its newfound unity and challenges presented by Redding, that it has a shot at winning all of conference this year.
“If we win these next few games, it’ll be really good momentum going into the conference season,” Butler said. “Arkansas Tech (University)is our biggest competitor, I’d say, so if we can beat them, we should have a pretty good chance of winning all of conference this year.”
The Lady Bisons played again on Wednesday afternoon, crushing John Brown University 9-0 for its sixth win of the year.
The women’s tennis team will travel to play Northwestern Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, on March 19. Results from Thursday’s match against the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith were unavailable as of press time.
