Varsity Tennis is Back at MC

Release Date: September 12, 2002

MONMOUTH, Ill. - Monmouth College tennis coach Dennis Mann is a realist.

He knows that a college athletic program doesn't often sit idle for 11 years and then come back to a competitive level without missing a beat.

But Mann is also an optimist, and he's seen good progress already from his new women's team, which opened play last weekend with a pair of 6-3 losses to Ripon and Illinois College.

"In general, we're starting to get more kids to hit the ball with a little more power to get it deeper in the court," he said. "They're getting more aggressive with their strokes. I think the girls are also starting to understand that they have to be a little more focused. You can't let your attention wander. Some of these girls have played two-hour matches, and they're not used to being on the court that long."

Of course, some are not used to being on the court very much at all. Of the 14 players on his roster - which include three juniors and a mix of sophomores and freshmen - Mann said that only half played varsity tennis in high school.

One of the ones who didn't, Allison Costello, has turned into Mann's winningest player so far. The hard-serving sophomore is 2-0 in singles after winning a pair of tough three-set matches.

"Her serve has helped her out and also her athleticism," said Mann, who coached Costello last season on the women's basketball team. "She doesn't like to lose."

Two other Fighting Scots, sophomores Beth McKenna and Christine Del Re, also have singles wins to their credit, and Mann said his typical lineup of six singles players also includes freshmen Shelia Ivey and Annie Shortridge and junior Amanda Morris. Right behind that group is a quartet that figures to see playing time at some point during the season - freshmen Elizabeth Lutmer and Mary Stoiber, sophomore Kat Neilson and junior Emily Nathan. Rounding out the team are freshman Jessica Mojden, sophomores Shelly Mooney and Anna Beasley and junior Michelle Meyer.

"It's a growing process," he said of MC women's tennis, which was previously a varsity sport from 1974-91. "The kids are starting to figure out what they need to do, both for this season and for next year, when they know they're going to need to come in at a higher level. You can't come in at point zero and be competitive at this level. You've got to put the work in over the summer."

Work was going on all summer at the MC courts this year, but it was in the form of facility construction rather than constructing a better backhand. The end result is a gorgeous six-court complex called the Monmouth College Tennis Stadium. The Scots might not be able to shoot right up the ranks in the Midwest Conference in terms of performance, but Mann thinks they probably have the top facility.

"The facility is just tremendous," he said. "The kids are excited about it. These are the nicest courts we've been on so far. It's really a great set-up."

In addition to the $1 million courts, Mann is also looking forward to the completion of the Huff Athletic Center, which will house four indoor courts. That site should be ready to go by the time that inclement weather hits in late autumn of 2003.

The Fighting Scots are headed to Wisconsin this weekend to meet MWC opponents Beloit and St. Norbert. The remaining schedule shows three home dates prior to the conference championships in Rockford Oct. 11-13.

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