2005 Women’s Tennis Preview
EAGLE NETTERS EXCITED ABOUT 2005
SIX PLAYERS RETURN FROM 6-1 FALL CAMPAIGN
With the return of six players, three of them being in the top five in the line-up, Clarion looks to have high hopes the spring 2005 women’s tennis season. The season will start on Tuesday, March 29th when the Golden Eagles visit Geneva for a 3:30 p.m. match. The PSAC-West opener against Shippensburg is set for Thursday, March 31st at Campbell Courts starting at 3 pm.
The Eagles finished an impressive 6-1 in the fall season. According to head Coach Lori Sabatose, “This fall’s schedule was competitive for last year’s team but because of the improvement the players have made over the past year it wasn’t as competitive as we would have liked. However, the fall was a good evaluation period for the team to find out where we as a team would be in the spring, we got to mix the players up to see who would help us the most and where.”
SABATOSE IN HER 5TH YEAR
Coach Lori Sabatose is in her fifth year as the Eagles head coach. Last year she coached the team to a 10-10 over all record, 6-4 Spring record and finished 4th in the PSAC West. She was a four-year starter for the Eagles; she played from 1988-91 Clarion won 3 PSAC titles during her career.
CLARION 10-10 OVERALL/ 1-3 IN PSAC IN 2004
Clarion finished the spring season with a record of 6-4 which was better than expected. After finishing the fall season with a record of 4-6, the Eagles had limited expectations. With a young team the Eagles had lost most of their starting line-up. “Most of our wins came from the bottom of our line up, we didn’t really have as many options as we do this year,” said Sabatose. Clarion’s only PSAC West win came against Cal (5-4). “Last season we had to deal with some injuries to the top of our line up,” stated Sabatose referring to Kristen Jack’s injury in the first match of the season. “This season I think we have a shot to get to the PSAC Final Four as a team,” said Sabatose.
ROMBACH & JACK LEAD THE TEAM IN 2005
Freshman Corin Rombach (Prattsburgh / Prattsburgh Central) and sophomore Kristen Jack (Lower Burrell / Burrell) are leading the Eagles as co-captains this year. “Both girls show tremendous leadership on and off the court in keeping the team together,” said Sabatose. Rombach will play #1 singles and #1 doubles this spring. She played #1 in the fall and finished with a record of 4-1 singles and 4-1 doubles. According to Sabatose, “Corin is very calm on the court which makes her an excellent doubles player.”
Kristen Jack climbed from the #4 to the #1 position last spring. This season Jack should play in the top 5. In the fall she played # 3 singles and #2 doubles and finished with a record of 4-3 singles and 6-1 doubles. “Kristen has worked on her quickness on the court over the summer and has gained speed and helps her run down almost every ball,” according to Sabatose.
RHODES, BROTHERS, BERRY , LOWDEN & BAUMGARTNER
BATTLING FOR LINEUP POSITIONS #2 - #6
This year the competition for the number 2-6 positions is very intense. Competing for these spots along with Kristen Jack are junior Ashley Rhodes (Altoona/ Altoona), junior Amanda Brothers (Moon Township/ Moon), freshman Emily Berry (Struthers/ Struthers), senior Jessica Lowden (Grove City, Grove City) and freshman Lisa Baumgartner (West Middlesex, Wilmington Area).
Rhodes played in the #2 positions in both singles and doubles this fall and finished with a record of 3-3 singles and 4-2 doubles. Last spring she played at #1 and 2 singles and #2 doubles and finished with a record of 1-9 singles and 6-4 doubles.
Brothers finished out the fall season with a record of 3-4 at #4 singles and 6-0 at #3 doubles. Last spring she played at #4-5 singles and finished with a record of 8-2 and played #1-2 in doubles and finished with a record of 6-1. “Amanda has matured on the court a lot over the past year,’ said Sabatose, “this will help her stay more focused during big matches.”
Berry finished her fall season with a record of 5-2 at #5 singles and 6-1 at #1 doubles. “Emily has a very solid overall game, however she is working on her consistency,” stated Sabatose. Berry was a 1st team all conference player for 2 years in high school.
Lowden played in the #6 position last spring and finished with a record of 9-1 at #3-5 singles and 4-6 at #3 doubles. “Jessica has a lot of heart and will do whatever it takes to stay in the line-up,” said Sabatose.
Baumgartner finished her first fall season at Clarion with a record of 7-0 at #6 singles and 3-0 at #3 doubles. “Lisa has a lot of positive energy on the court and is a great team player,” stated Sabatose. Baumgarter comes with a very impressive high school career; she holds the school record for the best singles career record 44-10 and was 1st team all conference for 2 years.
YOUNG PLAYERS HAVE A BRIGHT FUTURE
Freshmen Amy Robertson (York, West York), Megan Robertson (York, West York) and Ashleigh Orthen (Harrison City, Penn Trafford) along with sophomore Jackie Herbstritt finish out the team. According to Sabatose, “all four girls have great energy on the court and are all working really hard to get into the line-up.”
CLARION HAS HOPES FOR THE PSAC “FINAL FOUR”
The Eagles are looking to finish in the top two in the PSAC West and go to the PSAC “Final Four”. The Eagles will also send two players to the PSAC singles and doubles championship. Last spring Slippery Rock and Indiana finished as the top two teams in the PSAC West. According to Sabatose, Slippery Rock, who was #1 in the PSAC West in 2004, has graduated a lot of their key players but looks to rebound with a younger team. Indiana appears to be the pre-season favorite in the west and are ranked 37th in the NCAA for Division II. However, California and Shippensburg will also have strong teams.
By: Erin Dugan