For a team about to learn its fate for the upcoming NCAA Women's Championship, the No. 34-ranked Wisconsin women's tennis team was surprisingly relaxed. As the players sat watching ESPN News Wednesday afternoon waiting for the announcement, the team excitedly chattered about where it would be headed to play.
When the show finally began, everyone quieted down and intently stared at the screen, anxious to see their opponent, and, probably more so, their destination. When the team learned it would not be heading to Northwestern to play as many had feared, the excitement was apparent.
\First of all, I am excited that we are going to go to Clemson, S.C.,"" said senior Lindsay Martin. I thought that was pretty cool. ... Last year we went to North Carolina and it was so much fun, just to get away from the Midwest."" ""We were all kind of hoping to go somewhere else and see teams we haven't seen before.""
""I was really glad we get to be somewhere where we are going to have the chance to see four different teams,"" head coach Patti Henderson said. ""For a student-athlete experience I think that is a great opportunity.""
The Badgers will be taking on William & Mary either Friday, May 13, or Saturday, May 14. Currently ranked No. 20 in the country, the 19-5 Tribe will prove to be a difficult opponent for Wisconsin, but not an unbeatable one. The Tribe earned an automatic bid by winning the Colonial Athletic Conference tournament, and boasts three ranked singles players, headed by Megan Moulton-Levy at No. 37, as well as two ranked doubles tandems. However, Wisconsin counters with two of its own ranked singles players, sporting sophomore Caitlin Burke at No. 85 and senior Katie McGaffigan at No. 115.
""I think [William & Mary] is a good team but I don't think it is an unreachable match,"" said Martin.
""William and Mary is a very good team. They have had a very good year. So we are going to have our work cut out for us,"" Henderson said. ""We need to make sure [the team] can balance the academic load and pressure they are under now and still make sure [the players] are progressing and preparing.""
The team is fully aware of the delicate balance between preparing for the tournament and final exams. ""It's a stressful week with finals coming. It's hard,"" Martin said. ""But the coaches are really good about letting us practice between them.""
Martin and fellow senior Katie McGaffigan will bring experience to a young team in desperate need of it. ""We have four people that have never been in this situation before,"" confessed Martin. Coach Henderson credits Martin and McGaffigan with helping turn the program around, as the two seniors have been to three NCAA tournaments during their time in Madison and have enjoyed countless successes and victories.
""This has been a great senior season. I mean, I couldn't have asked for a better ending to the four years here,"" Martin said.
After a victory over Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament, as well as a hard-fought match against Northwestern, the Badgers are peaking at the perfect time to make some noise in the NCAAs.
""This weekend at the Big Ten tournament, they showed each other they are ready to play and had a great match against Northwestern,"" Henderson said. ""They believe that anything can happen.""
Martin stressed the fact that from now on, you either win or go home.
""It's totally different come tournament time. It's single elimination; this is when it really counts,"" she said.
