The University of Nevada women’s tennis kicks off its fall season Friday when it travels to Fresno, Calif., to compete in the annual Bulldog Classic. The tournament features a handful of nationally ranked teams and runs through Sunday.
“It is a pretty decent field and that gives our players a chance to measure themselves right away this season,” third-year head coach Sylvain Malroux said. “I am very encouraged by what I have seen in practice so far and excited to see how we fare against this competition.”
Nevada, which finished third in the Western Athletic Conference last season, returns seven players from the 2006-07 campaign. The Wolf Pack enters the 2007-08 season ranked No. 66 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Among the ranked teams competing this week are: Fresno State (No. 14), Sacramento State (No. 56) and Cal Poly (No. 64). Fresno Pacific, an NAIA powerhouse, will also be in the field.
Five Wolf Pack players will compete in the event, including sophomore Maria Mizyuk, who is ranked 103rd in the nation in singles by the ITA, and junior Caroline Bailly, who was second on the team in singles victories last year. In 2006-07, the duo combined for 44 singles victories. They also paired up for a 22-4 record in doubles and enter this season ranked No. 38 in the nation in doubles.
“It is exciting for Caroline and Maria to get some matches under their belt before they go to the ITA All-American event next week,” Malroux said.
Seniors Audrey Bardot and Ly-Huong Dinh will also compete in singles this weekend, as will newcomer Florence De Vrye, a freshman from Belgium. De Vrye and Dinh will likely play doubles together.
“Florence is tall and strong and very athletic,” Malroux said. “She has a big serve and she brings immediate depth to our roster. I am really excited to see what she does this first time out.”
Malroux said he was impressed by the off-season commitment to training made by his team and noted that the team is in solid physical condition to begin the season.
“Caroline won two tournaments in Belgium and (sophomore) Alice Hall won twice in France so they had good summers,” Malroux said. “Audrey, Caroline, Ly and Maria have all been in Reno since July training and you can really see the difference. They worked in the weight room and on the track. I feel that our team is coming in in really good shape. We are not just starting over with our training and that's important.”
Malroux will be assisted in the coaching duties this season by
Guillaume Tonelli, a former Wolf Pack men’s player who completed his collegiate playing career in the spring.
“Guillaume is a great addition. He was such a good player and that makes a huge difference. His presence allows us to work on more of a one-on-one basis with the players in practice. And with him not so far removed from his college playing career, he understands a lot of what goes through our players' minds,” Malroux said.
