Augustana’s women’s tennis team has been unstoppable this year.
They are undefeated at 9-0 in their fall season, putting them in first place in the CCIW.
They took down two CCIW teams: Elmhurst on Oct. 10 by a score of 9-0, and Wheaton on Oct. 13 by a score of 6-3. These victories have given the team confidence heading into the CCIW Championship.
With the tremendous success the team has had this year, senior captains Madeline Lombardi and Caitlyn Schaffer talked about what has contributed to that success.
“I believe our bond as a team, the experiences that we’ve had together from last year and, most importantly, the hard work we put in everyday as a team has contributed to our success,” Lombardi said.
“We make sure to push each other every day. Our strong relationships off the court have contributed to our relationship on the court. We have a strong team, and we make sure to slow things down, relax and take things one step at a time,” Schaffer said.
With the team being as dominant as they’ve been, both captains also talked about the team’s mindset going into these matches. Schaffer said they try not to be overconfident when heading into a meet.
“Our coach tells us every match that we are playing good teams. None of them are below us and none of these teams are easy wins,” Schaffer said. “We put in 100 percent effort each practice and each match. As a team, we hold each other accountable for never getting a big head and never underestimating our opponents.”
Lombardi talked about the ways the captains pump the team up before a meet.
“Before each match I always tell the girls, ‘Whatever they throw at us, the only thing that matters is what you do in return.’ By this I mean that you and only you are in control of what happens during each match,” Lombardi said. “My co-captain, Caitlyn, also has a phrase which is, ‘Whether you win or lose, we still love you.’ We want to remind the girls that these are just tennis matches and we’ll always be there to support each other no matter what.”
Now that the tennis team has handled their way through the regular season, their next task is the CCIW Championship. With this coming in the next week, the girls talked about their expectations heading into it.
“We have been playing well and finding our rhythm, so we are expecting to go into this week’s matches feeling good and ready to play. We have been working so hard up to this moment, so when the tournament starts, we’ll let the hours we put in do the talking,” Lombardi said.
Their season comes to a close with the CCIW Championship held in Moline, Illinois at the Quad City Tennis Club. Come support the Viking tennis team Oct. 18-20 as they look to close the season with the same domination they began with.