The No. 34 Wisconsin women's tennis team will play host to Northern Illinois at noon tomorrow at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Having played a trio of matches at the University of Virginia last weekend, Saturday will mark not just a homecoming for the Badger squad but for two freshmen and a transfer student, their first home match in Cardinal and White.
"We're inexperienced by position and by class," head coach Patti Henderson acknowledged, adding that she expects the team to nonetheless emerge victorious.
A year ago the Badgers swept the Huskies 7-0, also in the opening frame of their home season. And while this year's squad barely resembles that of 12 months ago, team veterans have their eyes on a strong opening performance at Nielsen.
"I think we're prepared. I think Northern Illinois is a good match up for one of the first matches we play," senior Lexi Goldin said. "I'm confident."
Representing the team on the No. 1 singles court will be Caitlin Burke, a junior who dropped only a single game in her match against the Huskies' Ivonne Andrade last year. Despite being a returning athlete, last weekend marked Burke's season debut with her teammates, as she spent the entirety of the fall term competing in national tournaments.
"It's the first time I traveled with the team," Burke said. "It was fun to be on the trip."
The Badgers will, however, face an obstacle this weekend in the form of a depleted roster. Freshman Ali Salomone has permanently departed the team while sophomores Nicole Beck and Morgan Tuttle both face health issues.
Beck will be out this weekend and Tuttle's status remains uncertain, according to Henderson.
"Morgan is wait-and-see … She's been able to play doubles," Henderson said. "She has to be healthy and it is just so early in the season."
Still, the team views this weekend as a chance to establish itself at home and an opportunity for both freshman and veterans alike to gain on-court experience.
"I'm still working on my serve. I've been working on it all fall and trying to improve that," Burke said when asked what she looks to improve, with Goldin adding of herself, "I'm still working on my consistency."
And the team hopes to be victorious against a Husky squad that went 6-8 last year, including the aforementioned 7-0 loss to Wisconsin.
"I certainly feel like we're going to go in to Northern Illinois and expect nothing short of walking away with a victory. [It] may not be the prettiest victory we've ever had, but then again it might be," Henderson said. "It's an opportunity … for those people who wouldn't otherwise be in the lineup right now to really step up."
