A 13-hour road trip to Bloomington, Ind., ended in disappointment as the Marquette women's tennis team lost to Indiana and Louisville last weekend, dropping its record to 3-6.
Saturday, the Golden Eagles fell to No. 27 Indiana, 7-0. Sophomore Francina Bonnelly and freshman Elsemieke Dokter were defeated by Sarah Batty and Kara Zeder, 8-6, in No. 1 doubles. At the No. 2 spot freshman Erin Watkins and sophomore Dominika Dabrowski were knocked off by Laura McGaffigan and Dominika Walterova, 8-2. In No. 3 doubles freshman Maria Calbeto and sophomore Andrea Bukacek were beaten by the Hoosiers' Dora Vastag and Cecile Perton, 8-2.
"The girls need to understand that when they do the things we ask, they will see a difference in their performance," head coach Jody Bronson said. "You have to take each match as an opportunity to get better and improve, not stay the same or take a step back."
Calbeto played No. 1 singles for the first time this season and was swept by Vastag, the 84th ranked player in the country, 6-0, 6-0. At the No. 2 spot, Batty easily defeated Dokter, 6-0, 6-0. The Hoosiers tallied another point at No. 3 singles when Indiana's McGaffigan defeated Watkins, 6-1, 6-1. Bonnelly was knocked off 6-2, 6-2, by Perton in No. 4 singles.
"It's hard to win when there is something missing," Bronson said. "Our kids need to start performing and we need to get tough on ourselves and tough on each other."
The Golden Eagles had no time to recover and lost to the Cardinals, 5-2, Sunday.
At No. 1 doubles, Calbeto and sophomore Callan Smith were defeated by Louisville's Suzanna Gracanin and Leslie Stewart, 8-4. Bonnelly and Dokter gave another strong performance at the No. 2 spot but lost, 8-6, to Natalie Laszkowski and Kelly Taylor.
"This weekend, we came together as a team during the matches," Watkins said. "But we still need to work on getting off to a good start and winning the first point of each match."
Things turned brighter for Marquette when Smith recorded her first victory at No. 1 singles. She defeated Louisville's Stewart, 6-0, 6-3.
"Callan played very well," Bronson said. "To win 6-0 at No. 1 singles is a strong achievement for anyone. She did what we asked of her and she saw success."
Smith's effort, however, was not enough to carry her team to victory. Calbeto was defeated in No. 2 singles by Robyn White, 6-2, 6-4.
Dokter lost a marathon match to Taylor in No. 3 singles, 6-3, 5-7, 10-7.
"Else came out strong in the second set and then by the third she was playing not to lose," Bronson said. "We have tried to work with the girls on this. They need to step up and take their shots regardless of what happens."
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Mar. 1 2005.