The University of Wisconsin hosted the 2004 USTA/ITA National Women’s Team Indoor Championships at Nielsen Tennis Stadium this weekend.
While the Badgers were unable to squeeze out a win in the event, head coach Patti Henderson took plenty of positives away from the weekend.
“In singles this weekend, we improved match to match to match,” Henderson said. “After Vanderbilt, we talked about if we can win a set or a match. It builds momentum and starts some confidence — if one person can have that then someone else can garner something from that and so forth.”
The Badgers struggled against a strong Vanderbilt team in the opening round of the tournament on Thursday, losing the round 7-0.
In doubles, the Badgers’ team of Katie McGaffigan and Lindsay Martin nearly pulled off a huge upset against Kelly Schmandt and Aleke Tsoubanos, the No. 2 doubles pair in the country. McGaffigan and Martin took the eight-game pro set match to a tiebreak, but ultimately fell to the talented Vanderbilt duo.
The Badgers’ pairing of seniors Teresa Gonzaga and Shana McElroy put up an equally impressive performance in the second doubles match, stretching a tough team of Audra Falk and Annie Meenes to their limit, but losing the marathon match nine to seven.
“I feel like we came out in the doubles and competed well,” Henderson said after the loss. “We put ourselves in a position to win the doubles point. I was pleased with our performance, especially after our struggles against Notre Dame (last week). In singles however, we had an opportunity, but we didn’t capture it. Vanderbilt is very disciplined and feisty and I think that surprised our team a little.”
The Commodores were solid in singles play, allowing only one of six matches to become close. McElroy pushed her match against Tsoubanos to three sets, winning the first before dropping two straight. A third set tiebreak capped a disappointing loss.
On Friday the Badgers rebounded, putting up a solid effort before falling to No. 10 North Carolina. McGaffigan pulled off her first upset of the weekend, topping No. 34 Aniela Mojzis 6-4, 6-1 in an impressive performance. The win was McGaffigan’s second this season over a ranked opponent.
Despite McGaffigan’s upset win, the Badgers lost the consolation round 5-2.
McGaffigan looked good again on Saturday as she and Martin beat Melissa Schaub and Tammy Encina in a tiebreaker. McGaffigan also topped No. 13 Encina in singles 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Though Tennessee came out on top, Henderson said she was impressed with her team’s work.
“Overall, I was pleased,” Henderson said. “I feel like we became better competitors over the course of the tournament and that we are better competitors now across the board than we were coming in.”
Henderson said that the weekend has also given her some things to consider when developing pairings and plans for future competitions.
“We have to take a look at our doubles situation to try to figure out how we can be competitive in all three every time we step out there and get an opportunity to win the doubles point,” Henderson said. “However, Katie McGaffigan and Lindsay Martin won today and they could have been 2-1 on the weekend.”
No. 1 Stanford wound up winning the tournament, barely breaking a sweat as they downed William and Mary 6-1, UCLA 6-1 and No. 5 Washington 5-0 on their way to beating No. 2 Georgia 5-0 in the finals on Sunday.
