The Marquette women's tennis team was busy last weekend with back-to-back matches Saturday and Sunday against Northern Illinois and Colorado, splitting the two matches and entering Monday with a season record of 1-2.
Marquette started the weekend off right by defeating Northern Illinois at home, 5-2.
In their second home match of the season, all three Marquette duos came out strong and took the doubles point.
"If you win the doubles point," freshman Maria Calbeto said, "there is still pressure going into singles, but not as much. You're more relaxed."
At No. 1 doubles, sophomore Callan Smith and Calbeto defeated Ivonne Andrade and Chrissy Svetlic, 8-5. The duo of sophomore Francina Bonnelly and freshman Elsemieke Dokter knocked off Northern Illinois' Cassie Drake and Daniela Martinez, 8-5. At the No. 3 spot, sophomore Dominika Dabrowski and freshman Erin Watkins continued the winning streak by defeating Doris Delgadillo and Megan Brooks, 8-6.
"Psychologically, winning the doubles point gives you an edge going into singles play," said head coach Jody Bronson.
The Golden Eagles took the edge they gained from doubles and carried it into their singles matches. The team only lost to Northern Illinois in No. 1 and No. 4 singles.
Smith competed in the No. 1 spot but was defeated by the Huskies' Drake, 7-5, 6-3. Calbeto beat Andrade in No. 2 singles, 7-5, 6-4. Dokter's Northern Illinois opponent took her to three sets, but she was still able to win a single's point for the Golden Eagles. In No. 3 singles Dokter defeated Svetlic 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
In No. 4 singles Watkins was defeated by Martinez, 7-5, 6-1. Bonnelly beat Northern Illinois' Delgadillo, 6-1, 6-1 in No. 5 singles. In the No. 6 spot, Dabrowski knocked off Brooks, 6-3, 6-3, for another singles point.
"On Saturday we were fundamentally sound with our execution," Bronson said. "We built confidence with the shots that we took. The team wants to win and they're learning what it takes to win. They have to play on the same level for the entire match."
For the second match of the weekend, Marquette traveled to Madison to compete against Colorado, ranked No. 70 nationally by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. Despite a promising start to the weekend, the Golden Eagles were unable to add another victory to their record. Marquette was defeated, 0-7, by the Buffalos.
The lineup switched Sunday as Dokter competed in No. 4 singles and Watkins moved into the No. 3 spot.
"The doubles spots and the singles lineup are not set," Bronson said. "We can change the lineup from match to match or from practice to practice. The girls have to prove themselves every day."
The Golden Eagles fell behind early in the match after losing the doubles point. Smith and Calbeto lost to Kendra Strandemo and Martina Sedivic in No. 1 doubles, 8-4. Bonnelly and Dokter were defeated, 8-3, in No. 2 doubles by Jessica Vanderdys and Veera Nurmi. Dabrowski and Watkins fell to Colorado opponents Lynzee Kever and Jenny Hanson in No. 3 doubles, 8-2.
Marquette went into singles play behind, 0-1, and for the remainder of the match did not score any points.
"We did not do that well in singles on Sunday," Bronson said. "We didn't win the doubles point and we lost some sets that we should have won. We still haven't stepped up and put everything together for a whole match."
Even with the loss, Bronson is happy with the progress her team is making.
"Our No. 2 doubles (Bonnelly and Dokter) showed lots of improvement," Bronson said. "They were very aggressive and had few unforced errors. The other team really had to work to beat them. Callan played very well too and Maria took her opponent three sets and showed a lot of heart out on the court."
It is still early in the season and the women have plenty of time for growth, according to Bronson. But as the Golden Eagles play more like a team with every practice and every match, the coach is still waiting for leaders to emerge.
"Chemistry is important, but leadership is crucial," she said.
"There are vocal leaders and those who lead by example. It can be hard in a young team, but as the season goes on, those leaders will step up."
Marquette will play Illinois-Chicago Wednesday at 4 p.m at the Helfaer Tennis Stadium.
This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Feb. 1 2005.