Today the women’s tennis team kicks off its 2014 season and travels to Des Moines, IA to face off against the Vikings of Grand View.
This season the Raiders have added three new players to the team from last year. The new additions include McKayla Johnson, a freshmen from Sioux Falls; Valerie Robinson, a transfer sophomore who previously played at Northern State; and senior Alex Brower from Sioux Falls.
“The new players are a good addition to the team, and I am excited to see how they help us out,” sophomore Amanda Bueltel said. She said she is excited to see the team get better every day and to see the improvements from where they were last season.
“We have a couple new girls, and since we are a small team, that makes a big difference,” junior Hannah Stark said.
Stark said she likes the relationships she gets to build with her teammates and is looking forward seeing how they grow as a team.
The team is looking forward to traveling to Hilton Head, SC, during spring break, and it is expected to be a good test for the squad.
“Our expectations this season is that we want to compete at the top of the conference,” coach Jeff Guthmiller said.
Guthmiller said that the last two weeks of practice have been good and that he is excited to see where the team stands after all the hard work they have put in. He said he loves the camaraderie that the team has and thinks that his team is ready for the meet.
Last year, the team ended the season with a 7-11 overall record and made it to the semi-finals in the conference tournament but fell to top-seeded Nebraska Wesleyan 5-0.