Ladies making a racquet
Women’s tennis team aims to claim the top spot in 2017 season
ECSTATIC — Sophomores Audrey Brown and Rebekah Anderson celebrate a point.
Photo Credit: Kaitlyn Becker Johnson
After a successful 2016 campaign – a season that included a team record eight Big South wins and a share of the conference championship – the Liberty women’s tennis team has one goal in mind for 2017: win the Big South tournament for the first time in program history.
After falling to conference rival Winthrop University in the finals a year ago, they feel they have what it takes to be the last team standing come April – a sentiment shared by Head Coach Jeff Maren.
“Our expectations are high every year,” Maren said.
“I believe that the sky’s the limit for us. We are really pushing the team to be one of the better programs in the country.”
One of the factors the women have in their favor is a collective wealth of experience.
Of the nine roster spots, only one is filled by a freshman.
The other eight players on the team have had plenty of Big South play experience and, according to senior Emily Groeneveld, that can pay huge dividends going forward.
“We only have one freshman so it’s easy to let her know about the pressure and what’s at stake,” Groeneveld said.
“Every other person on the team has already been through the Big South experience. We kind of already have that under our belt, so I feel like we are well-prepared, and I think that we have a really good shot this year.”
Experience is not the only thing going for them, however.
Junior Evangeline Crist is back for her third season at Liberty and is looking to raise the bar once again after two record-setting campaigns as a freshman and sophomore.
Maren said of Crist, “She’s done an outstanding job, setting records every year for how many matches she wins in singles and doubles. She has high character, high morals, and is a very good leader. We expect her to assume that role on the team, helping to lead the program.”
Crist’s season is already off to a hot start after notching a Big South Player of the Week award for the week of Jan. 30 – Feb. 5.
Besides Crist, Maren had high praise for the play of sophomores Rebekah Anderson and Groeneveld, the latter of whom he said has shown great character early on this season.
“(Groeneveld) didn’t play quite as much last year, but she has come back this year and played really, really well,” Maren said.
“She’s showing great leadership as a senior to kind of just rebound her game.”
The striking difference about this group is the camaraderie that exists between teammates, according to Maren.
The way the girls support each other is not typical of tennis because of the individual nature of the sport.
“I think this team is the most unified team that we have ever had,” Maren said.
“They love each other, fight for each other, and compete for each other. It’s a very unselfish team — the most unselfish team I have had. Our talent level maybe isn’t as high as some of the teams we’ve had in the past, but I believe this team can actually go further because of the unity that we have.”
The season is already underway, and the Lady Flames are off to a solid start with a 1-0 record in the conference after a win over Longwood.
While making special note of the match versus rival Winthrop April 1, Maren said he is also excited to play the scheduled opponents who hail from some of the larger conferences in the country in hopes of proving that Liberty women’s tennis is capable of beating anyone.
“We’ve circled, obviously, Winthrop, because that’s our chief competition in the conference,” Maren said.
“Of course the ACC teams and SEC teams that we have on our schedule — we’ve circled those too. We’re looking to knock off the big dogs
so to speak.”
When asked what differentiates this team from any of the others he has coached in the past, Maren answered, “We are a family and we have fun. We have fun working hard.”
Liberty hosts a conference match against Radford Feb. 15.