A 3-19 record wouldn’t satisfy most. And it certainly didn’t satisfy the Marquette women’s tennis team, which last season struggled to find consistency in the win column.

Thus, the team brought in Brett Barnett to shift the energy.

“The team, honestly was a little low on confidence when I arrived in the fall,” Barnett said. “We worked all fall on just developing everyone’s game individually, getting a little clearer plan for everyone out on court.”

With Barnett’s growth plan, Marquette went from three regular season wins to eight in one year, entering the Big East tournament on Thursday with momentum. It also helps the Golden Eagles go into their first round match against Seton Hall off the back of their biggest win of the year.

Before its last regular season match against Butler April 4, Marquette had never won a match after losing the doubles point.

Senior Emma Davis and first-year Elise Barnstedt dropped their doubles match 6-2.

Sophomore Elena Duva and first-year Maria Poon dropped their doubles match 6-4.

With his team in precarious situation, Barnett kept inspiring the players to dig themselves out of the hole and prove history wrong.

“I told the girls after we dropped the doubles matches, ‘We can do this. We easily can get four singles points if we believe,'” said Barnett.

The team still found themselves down 3-0 in total to the Bulldogs, but everyone in the blue & gold know there was still a way to win.

“Them knowing that we’re never down and out if there’s points to play, they’re going to fight for each other and fight for Marquette,” Barnett said.

This mindset helped the team build on points and keep their motivation intact.

With Marquette down 3-2 after singles wins from Barnstedt and sophomore Aiyana Abbott, it was up to Duva and sophomore Luciana Mendoza to drive the win home.

Mendoza took the first set, 6-4, but was bested in the second, 6-3. Mendoza maintained her focus and control, winning the final set 7-5.

With the match knotted 3-3  it was all up to Duva to finish off the regular season with a win.

Duva dropped the first set 6-3, but took the second 7-5. The third set was a back-and-forth battle, and Duva came out on top, 6-4.

“We definitely needed that win, coming back from (trailing) 3-0 was amazing,” Mendoza said. “The girls were super energetic which definitely helps.”

Duva said the win impacts the team’s belief overall in making a run in the tournament.

“The win showed us that we can win matches in all sorts of ways, so now going into the tournament we have a lot more confidence and momentum,” said Duva.

But Marquette could not celebrate for long, needing to quickly start preparing for Seton Hall. The doubles point is still an area the team needs to improve on going into the tournament despite the win.

“Doubles is big in practice right now,” said Duva. “It’s going to be really important for us to get that doubles point so we have the momentum going into the rest of the match,”

But, the Golden Eagles have momentum — and are looking to build on it.

“Keeping the energy high and staying aggressive when we’re tired will help a lot,” said Mendoza.

This story was written by Ben Ward. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @BenWardMU.