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Women’s Tennis Ready For 2010 Season
The Stevens Institute of Technology women’s tennis team enters the 2010 season with hopes of capturing its first-ever Empire 8 title under sixth-year head coach Steve Gachko. The Ducks finished last season with a 13-6 overall record and a 7-1 conference mark, falling to five-time league champion Ithaca College in the Empire 8 Championship match.
“I think last year went a long way toward helping us really believe in ourselves and our abilities as a team. I think heading into this season our student-athletes really believe they can compete with Ithaca and the top teams in the conference,” said Gachko. “While it’s early, I already see a lot of competitiveness in this group and that’s something you like to see as a coach. They have high expectations for themselves. It’s something that isn’t new to them. There’s a hunger and tenacity there and its one of our strengths.”
Returning to the fold this year are a trio of all-conference honorees from a year ago in the form of senior Allyson Kingman (Hamilton, N.J.) and juniors Nicole Portner (Shamong, N.J.) and Morgan Scalzi (Doylestown, Pa.). Kingman notched 10 No. 1 singles wins en route to first-team singles accolades last season, while Portner tallied nine No. 2 singles victories as a second-team singles all-conference honoree. Scalzi, a second-team doubles awardee, enjoyed a tremendous year in doubles, going 16-3 to lead the Ducks in doubles victories.
“Allyson (Kingman) has always been a rock (for us). She’s always going to push whoever she is playing,” Gachko said. “We also expect big things from Morgan (Scalzi). You can definitely see more confidence in her game as well.”
Also returning this season are senior Kendra Appleheimer (Brick, N.J.), junior Mine Bese (Secaucus, N.J.) and sophomores Alexandra Handel (Sparta,N.J.) and Victoria Tran (South Plainfield, N.J.). Appleheimer finished 8-6 in third to third singles last season, while racking up a 13-5 mark in doubles play. Bese scored eight wins in singles action a year ago, while Handel and Tran combined for 10 singles victories and nine doubles wins.
“Kendra (Appleheimer) is coming off a strong spring. We’re already getting the sense that she’s got much more confidence in her game this year. I definitely see her having an impact, while Nicole (Portner) has definitely emerged as one of our leaders. I see her being a really tough competitor this season in both singles and doubles,” said Gachko. “Mine (Bese) has a good tennis background. She has all the shots. It’s just a matter of putting it all together, while Victoria (Tran) put in a lot of work over the summer and it shows. She has a lot of promising upside and if she continues to improve, I can definitely see her putting some pressure on her teammates that may be above her. Lexie (Handel) has also put in a lot of work in the offseason and will be fighting for a starting spot this year.”
As a team, Stevens finished 2009-10 with a 67-57 singles mark (.540), going 31-14 (.689) in conference play, while its doubles teams sported a 37-20 (.649) overall mark with a 19-5 (.792) league ledger.
“I expect a lot of our returnees to pick up right where they left off and I feel like I’ve already seen that in the preseason practices. All of our returnees came back stronger and more importantly came back with a lot more confidence,” Gachko said. “We have a lot of depth this year that will allow us to be more versatile. We have a lot of options and I think that will really help to push everyone to be stronger.”
Rounding out the Ducks roster this season are a pair of talented freshmen in Lisa Tessitore (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) and Elena Cocineva-Lenge (Chester, N.J.).
“I see both of our freshmen coming right in and having an immediate impact. Lisa (Tessitore) is smart and athletic. She has good footwork and is a competitor who loves pressure situations, while Elena (Cocineva-Lenge) is someone I can also see having an impact this year,” Gachko said. “She continues to improve everyday and I believe she’ll step up and become stronger as the season progresses.”
With five upperclassmen, including a pair of seniors, Gachko expects the veterans of this year’s squad to take on a more active leadership role.
“We’re also excited about the leadership qualities our veterans have shown so far this preseason. Allyson (Kingman) has really taken some of the less experienced players under her wing, as has Morgan (Scalzi) – especially with the doubles (teams). They are really embracing some of our younger student-athletes and really helping them to improve and play better on a daily basis,” explained Gachko. “One thing I’m really stressing to our student-athletes this season is to focus on performance goals rather than achievement goals. Everyone has different aspects they want to improve upon – whether it be individual or team stuff – and we’re looking at ways to achieve those. All of our student-athletes keep a journal, so everything is going to be recorded and assessed, and the goal is to have them push each other: every practice, every match.”
Stevens opens its season on September 1 when it plays host to Ramapo College before hitting the road for a pair of conference matches against Rochester Institute of Technology and Nazareth College on September 4-5. The Ducks return home to face Rutgers-Newark on September 8 before taking on Drew University in Florham, N.J. on September 15.
The Ducks begin a five match homestand on September 18 against Alfred University, culminating in back-to-back matches against league rivals Utica College and Hartwick College on October 2-3. Stevens concludes its season on the road against Elmira College, Ithaca College, and Division I Princeton University on October 9, 10, and 13, respectively.
“We definitely have the competitiveness, talent, and ability to compete for a conference championship. It’s a matter of just learning from our past shortcomings and building upon our success,” said Gachko. “We’re just excited to start the season. It’s a fun group to work with and while they’re a fairly young group, they’re taking in all the information we’ve thrown at them and are looking to apply it each and every day.”
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