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The University of Utah Athletics
Women's Tennis Season Outlook
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Women's Tennis
January 20, 1999
SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah women's tennis team has high expectations to improve on a rising program entering the 1998-99 campaign. The expectations come from three consecutive seasons that have landed the Utes in the NCAA tournament. Although Utah dropped matches in the first round of the regionals each time, last season falling to No. 34 Colorado, the Utes are poised to make a run at increased national recognition. After regularly playing several Top-25 teams (12 total) last year, the U. netters are primed for another season of facing the nation's top teams.
The Utes go into the season carrying a No. 53 ranking. Their effort will be spearheaded by returners Molly Sanderson, a senior, Megan Payne, a junior, and sophomore Heidi Thomas. They are the veterans in the Utes' youth movement. Freshmen Linn Ronnberg, Irini Kotoglou, Brooke Wilkinson and Hillaree Hawkins must step in and contribute right away. Head coach John Tsumas hopes his veterans can combat the youthful inexperience with their big match experience.
"The thing we are trying to do is get as much experience as we can early on," says Tsumas. "We play Northwestern (No. 42) and Florida (No. 1) early, to let the team know what level they need to play at throughout the season."
Payne should make the team's maturing process easier. Last year she played as high as No. 2 singles, where she was 3-7 record, while mainly filling the No. 3 slot with a 6-6 mark. In her first two seasons at Utah, Payne has had big wins over formidable opponents like No. 64 Karoline Borgerson of California, No. 96 Sandra Fischer of Colorado, No. 108 Angela Nelson-Jewell, Kris Sell of Kansas and Katia Bogomolova of Miami. This season she will harness the role of co-captain and No. 1 singles.
"Megan has phenomenal variety in her game," says Tsumas. "She is a very dedicated team captain with drive, hustle and work ethic."
Sanderson, also a team captain, is the lone senior on the team. She had a 5-2 singles record last year and posted seven wins at No. 6 in 1996, but her strength will be in doubles. Last season she sported an 8-1 No. 2 doubles record. Sanderson's doubles experience has been the decisive factor in some of Utah's big wins in the past.
"Her intensity in pressure doubles matches last season was outstanding," says Tsumas. "Along with Megan, Molly shut the door and gave us the fifth point to clinch wins over Miami, North Carolina, Boise State and Kansas State."
In only her first year as a Ute last season, Thomas posted wins over top-20 teams. She beat Brigham Young's Brooke Leavins and USC's Amber Basica during a six-match win streak. She was also among the team leaders in dual match wins with 11. She played as high as No. 4 singles as a freshman.
"Heidi has developed aggressive ground stroke plays and improved her net game," says Tsumas. "Those improvements, combined with consistent ground strokes, calculated lobs and tough passing shots, will make Heidi tough to stop."
Two of the four freshmen, Ronnberg and Kotoglou, have had a small taste of what to expect during the regular season as they nibbled on collegiate play during the fall season.
Ronnberg impressed in her fall debut, placing third at No. 2 singles in the BYU Invitational. Linn also did well in the fall and Tsumas has high hopes for her near the top of the lineup. Ronnberg comes to Utah with international success. She finished ranked No. 8 in Sweden as a junior and ended No. 3 on the Swedish Winter Tour rankings.
"Linn had a strong fall. She has the potential to be among the top players in the nation. I can tell from her work ethic in practice that she'll do real well," says Tsumas.
Kotoglou brings an international portfolio with her. She took third place in singles at the Swedish Junior Championships and ranked No. 9 in Sweden.
"Irini is quick, powerful and a superb volleyer," says Tsumas. "She is a blast of energy, enthusiasm, and fight, and has the ability to finish points very aggressively."
Hawkins graduated from Ogden High School (Utah) in December, fresh off a finalist appearance at the 3A Utah State High School Championships in the fall. At 5'10", she will have a tall order to step into the Ute lineup and produce immediately. A fifth place finisher at the Intermountain Championships, Tsumas likes his freshman's competitive spirit.
"Hillaree possesses an awesome backhand, huge first serve, consistent forehand and great reach. Her strongest asset, though, may be her mental toughness. She is a competitor who plays with a lot of heart," says Tsumas.
Wilkinson, also a December high school graduate (Skyline High School (Utah), is a two-time Utah State 5A Championships finalist. In the state tournament, Brooke defeated the defending state champion. She placed sixth in the Intermountain Championships last year. Tsumas sees Wilkinson as the last piece of the Utes' puzzle.
"Brooke has a very strong first serve. She also has great anticipation moving towards the net. She is going to add a lot of aggressiveness to our team," says Tsumas.
With the crop of new freshmen and the returning Utes accepting new roles, Tsumas hopes the players can adjust to unaccustomed positions.
"The problem with singles is everyone will be playing in different positions than they are used to," says Tsumas. "We just need to find the right chemistry in our lineup."
Doubles should prove Utah's biggest strength this season. "We lost good doubles teams from last year and we'll have at least two new teams," remarks Tsumas. "But Linn and Irini have had international doubles success, and Megan and Molly had clutch wins to preserve wins for us last season."
The teams of Payne-Sanderson and Ronnberg-Kotoglou won their respective divisions in the fall at the BYU Invitational, while Payne-Ronnberg won the consolation bracket at the ITA Rolex Central Region Tournament. Payne also ranked nationally in doubles as a freshman. Kotoglou was a member of the Swedish doubles champion duo in 1998, while Ronnberg was a member of the runner-up team.
The Utes will play their usual competitive schedule this year, facing the top teams in the nation. This year's schedule has Utah playing No. 1 Florida, No. 9 BYU, No. 23 South Alabama and No. 28 UNLV.
"We're inexperienced, but show a lot of potential," says Tsumas. "The sooner we get in and play the top teams, the more it will help us down the road."
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