Netters Aim To Springboard From Fall Success

The Oklahoma Baptist University tennis teams will be looking to springboard into the spring off of their fall season which proved to be a growing time.

"The fall was a real time of development," said head coach Sue Dick. "It was really an eye opener for the freshman."

Out of the ten players on the men's roster, there are four freshmen on the squad. On the women's side there are three freshmen out of the eight total members of the team.

While the fall was seen as a major developmental period for both squads, Coach Dick still had some high points to talk about.

Freshman Christa Tjeerdsma won the Heart of America Tournament. She became the first freshman to ever win that tournament.

Becca Sheriff, the lone senior, had to be a leader and step up into the number three spot due to injuries. There were three women that were injured in the fall. One of those injured in the fall, Amy Stubblefield, has been lost for the entire season.

Kevan Angel has been tagged by Coach Dick as a breakout player. Number three player Tyson Allard stepped up in the fall and was a great leader for the men's squad.

The men fought various minor injuries throughout the fall while only losing junior Ryan Lincks for the fall season due to an injury not related to tennis.

In addition to the inexperience, the injuries prevented OBU from taking greater strides in the fall.

"We didn't win as many (matches) as we should have won," said Dick. "This was due partly to being inexperienced as well as coming in to the season out of shape. They (OBU players) didn't play as much tennis over the summer as they should have been playing."

In order for the OBU tennis teams to be successful in the spring there are a few specific areas that Coach Dick believes will be crucial for improving the results of the young squads.

"We need to be more consistent in our serving and cut down on our unforced errors. We have beaten ourselves so much (this fall) that in a sense we haven't really played anybody."

The women's squad is led by Sheriff, from Salatiga, Indonesia, and the lone junior Sarah Haselwood, a native of Shawnee.

Sophomores Lauren White from Spring, Texas and Kerri McNutt from Ada, will be the other returning members of last year's squad looking to provide stability.

Ashley Jerige, from Sugar Land, Texas, Kimberly Daniel, from Taejon, South Korea, and Christa Tjeerdsman, from Hays, Kansas, are the freshman class rounding out the women's team.

Amy Stubblefield would have been in her first season with the tennis team as a senior had she not suffered a season-ending injury. Senior Brooke Bohannon is returning as the assistant coach this year.

On the men's squad, seniors Dustin Tims, a native of Seminole, and Georgi Gardev, from Richardson, Texas, will anchor the team as the number one and two ranked players respectively.

The other returning players are junior Ryan Lincks, from Tulsa, sophomore Tyson Allard, from Altus, and JK McCormick, from Sapulpa.

Justin Wesselhoft, a junior from Moore, will begin his first campaign with the tennis team this year.

The remaining newcomers to the men's team, which make up the freshman class, are Caleb Potter, from Cleveland, Curtis Schube, from Willis, Texas, Kevan Angel, from Chickasha, and Eric Scroggins, from The Colony, Texas.

Coach Dick has set finishing in the top three in regionals a final goal for the men, while she wants to see the women finish in the top four in the regional tournament.

"These kids work really hard and really have a desire to get better," said Dick. "They hate losing."