Written by Jackson Saylor | Photo by Balasz Balassa
The spring semester marks the beginning of new classes, new events and, for many of the athletes on campus, a new season. The Bison tennis teams will hit the court this spring looking to repeat and improve on their success from the 2021 season.
After winning the south division of the conference last year, the men’s team ranked 34th nationally in the final Oracle ITA Division II Men’s Rankings for the 2021 season. Men and women’s tennis head coach David Redding said he has confidence his team can replicate that same success.
“I know we’ll be competitive,” Redding said. “I know we’ll compete for a championship, and I know we’ll compete for a spot in the NCAA regionals.”
The task to replicate and improve on their finish last year will not be easy however, as the competition they will face is among the best in the country.
“Each team in the conference got better, including us,” senior Morgan Salvan said. “We’re going to play nine teams in the top 30, so that’s something to be excited about, and I’m definitely looking forward to those matches.”
The women’s tennis team hopes to continue their success as well, as they won the Great American Conference last year and ended their season with the 26th ranking in the final Oracle ITA Division II Women’s rankings. They will face a rigorous schedule as well with everyone in the conference looking to beat them, but Redding said he remains confident in the current squad.
“We anticipate another run at the championship, but we have a target on our back now,” Redding said. “We feel like we’re in a great place to make another run at the championship and finish the year with a national ranking.”
Sophomore Romane Britt echoes those sentiments of anticipated success despite the losses of two key players: Rylie Cox Evans and Hana Folse, who graduated.
“We have a good group of girls, and while yes we did lose our number one player last year and another senior, we do have two new players and a transfer who will be really strong in our lineup,” Britt said. “I think the competition will be harder this season, but I think we have a stronger team, and I’m just really excited to see how we do this season.”
Both teams expect big things in a season that is filled with matches that will feature top notch players from top notch programs playing some top notch tennis. The women will kick off their season on Tuesday, Feb. 8, at 2 p.m., where they will face Ouachita Baptist at the David Elliot Tennis Complex on campus. The men will start their season in Springfield, Missouri, as they take on the Drury Panthers at 8 p.m. on Feb. 11.
