Winthrop Women’s Tennis
The Winthrop women’s tennis team has been predicted to finish first in the Big South Conference by the league’s coaches. The Eagles were a unanimous pick, receiving all 10 first-place votes. This year’s selection marks the 16th consecutive year these Lady Eagles have been voted the preseason favorite by the Big South coaches.
“I feel like this year we have a very strong team,” said junior tennis player, Alisa Soloveva. “All the girls put their maximum effort during practices and we are all really pumped and excited to start the season. The schedule is tough this year but everyone is getting ready to fight for each point and compete on a high level.”
Winthrop won the Big South title last season. This was the program’s 20th conference championship overall. Furthermore, this added a historic victory over Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
In the rankings, senior Lauren Proctor enters the spring ranked No. 66 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Women’s National Singles Rankings after the fall season.
All-American doubles duo Proctor and senior Megan Kauffman are ranked No. 22 in the ITA National Doubles.
In 2018, Proctor and Kauffman finished undefeated in a 24-match winning streak that carried them to the NCAA Doubles Championship Quarterfinals, beating Georgia and Wake Forest. These seniors will serve as team captains this season
“We’re really excited as a team to get this season underway, we’re hoping we can keep building on what we did last spring and accomplish some more big things,” said Proctor. “ With that being said, no match is easy and neither is any team so we just have to stay focused on what we do best as a team. We’ve used the preseason to work really hard and finetune our games so that we can start out strong this season and maintain it all semester.”
Winthrop will host 10 home matches in total, with four home contests against Big South Conference opponents.
“We have a really strong schedule for the spring,” said Head Coach Cid Carvalho. “We play many ranked teams, and really good competition. They’re going to be challenged every time they step on the court. It’s a matter of maintaining that electricity, that motivation, from the beginning to the end of the season and build up as the season goes on. It’s a lot of fun, and I think this group will bring that to the season.”
The Lady Eagles open this season at home this Sunday, Jan. 20 against fellow NCAA Tournament participant William & Mary before heading to Nashville to compete in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend.
Winthrop Men’s Tennis
The Winthrop men’s tennis team has been picked to finish second in the Big South Conference. This was announced by the Big South head coaches. The Eagles received the most first place votes of any team with five but finished one point behind the Campbell Camels in the overall total point system.
“The best part about our upcoming schedule is that we have a fresh opportunity to compete for a Big South Conference title,” said Head Coach John Collins. “We are playing some of the best teams in our region and we will have a great opportunity against NC State in February.”
Winthrop finished the 2018 Big South regular season with an undefeated 7-0 conference record, but was narrowly edged 4-3 by Campbell in the championship final of the Big South Conference Tournament
“We have another really close group this year and that has started with our team’s leadership,” Collins said. “Diego Quiroz and Gabriel Dias have really stepped up for us as captains this year. A big part of leadership is being an example to those around you, and they have both done that at our tournaments, in practice and in the classroom. I am very proud of them for embracing their role on our team.”
Winthrop will host seven home matches in total, four of those against Big South Conference opponents.
“The team is excited for the season to start and hopefully do even better than expected. Being voted as the preseason second favorite is obviously a huge deal for us, but our main goal is always to win the conference and bring the title home,” said Dias. “Campbell was voted as the preseason favorites, but we were the ones that got the most votes to finish in first place and nothing matters more than that to us. The entire team worked really hard during the fall semester and we ended up creating a strong team mentality that will surely help us during this season. I believe that we have an extremely mature team this year and we are prepared to give our best to represent the Eagles.”
The Eagles’ home opener at Rock Hill Tennis Center is Sat. Jan. 19 with a doubleheader against Queens University with matches at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
