2008 Woodie Awards
Women's tennis wins three of four during spring break
Matt Pavao
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Sports
03/27/08 - The University of Rhode Island women's tennis team enjoyed some sun and success during spring break, winning three of four matches in Florida last week.
The Rams lost a close first match 4-3 against Flagler College but rebounded with three consecutive 7-0 sweeps against Tufts University, Bethune-Cookman Univeristy and Florida Community College.
Head coach Sandy Wood was happy with the trip down south.
"Spring break is a great time and a great experience," Wood said. "We know we're there to play a lot of tennis and living in the northeast it's such a welcome time to play in warm weather. It was a great week of matches and the kids always get up for those."
The team also managed to enjoy their spring break despite the four matches.
"We had great weather and the schedule was great," Wood said. "We played everyday at 11:30 for three or four hours and then the rest of the day was theirs to relax and hang out and bond as a team. It was a great mix. They did get really tied to the point that they were going to bed at eight or nine at night.
Despite winning three of four, Wood was a little disappointed that they didn't get the clean sweep.
"We played well," Wood said, "but we could have won that first match and been 4-0 but one or two things didn't fall in place. Two girls were kind of injured and one girl was sick and they were a good team. We almost came back from being down 3-0 but didn't win the last match. It was a good match."
The Rams recovered brilliantly from the first loss, winning every match for the rest of the trip to showcase their best play of the season.
"I think they're playing so much right now that they're more ready than they were before the trip to Florida," Wood said. "The goals were definitely accomplished. Our last match was our best match and that is the way it should be."
For Wood, it is crucial that the team is playing its best tennis at the end of the year.
"It's big because we have seven matches in the next three and a half weeks and it is the meat of the season," Wood said. "All of those matches are all 50-50 matches. We have to be ready for this part of the season and I think we are. We'll win some matches."
Rhode Island will play on the road against the University of Connecticut tomorrow before returning to Kingston for a home match against Fordham University.
The Rams lost a close first match 4-3 against Flagler College but rebounded with three consecutive 7-0 sweeps against Tufts University, Bethune-Cookman Univeristy and Florida Community College.
Head coach Sandy Wood was happy with the trip down south.
"Spring break is a great time and a great experience," Wood said. "We know we're there to play a lot of tennis and living in the northeast it's such a welcome time to play in warm weather. It was a great week of matches and the kids always get up for those."
The team also managed to enjoy their spring break despite the four matches.
"We had great weather and the schedule was great," Wood said. "We played everyday at 11:30 for three or four hours and then the rest of the day was theirs to relax and hang out and bond as a team. It was a great mix. They did get really tied to the point that they were going to bed at eight or nine at night.
Despite winning three of four, Wood was a little disappointed that they didn't get the clean sweep.
"We played well," Wood said, "but we could have won that first match and been 4-0 but one or two things didn't fall in place. Two girls were kind of injured and one girl was sick and they were a good team. We almost came back from being down 3-0 but didn't win the last match. It was a good match."
The Rams recovered brilliantly from the first loss, winning every match for the rest of the trip to showcase their best play of the season.
"I think they're playing so much right now that they're more ready than they were before the trip to Florida," Wood said. "The goals were definitely accomplished. Our last match was our best match and that is the way it should be."
For Wood, it is crucial that the team is playing its best tennis at the end of the year.
"It's big because we have seven matches in the next three and a half weeks and it is the meat of the season," Wood said. "All of those matches are all 50-50 matches. We have to be ready for this part of the season and I think we are. We'll win some matches."
Rhode Island will play on the road against the University of Connecticut tomorrow before returning to Kingston for a home match against Fordham University.