With two wins in Kansas at regionals last week, the UNK women’s tennis team has made the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in program history. This week, they look to make their second straight trip to the quarterfinals and perhaps farther, down in Florida.
Scott Shafer, UNK tennis coach, said that this year’s players are fueled by this aura around them.
“I think the girls have this championship aura about them, which I think came into play last weekend when we played (Central Oklahoma),” Shafer said.
The Lopers ended their regular season at the end of April, with wins over Newman and Central Oklahoma to earn them the No.1 seed at the MIAA tournament. There, UNK lost a rematch with Central Oklahoma in the semifinals.
The early loss at the conference tournament was not enough to bounce UNK from regionals. The Lopers qualified as the No. 3 seed and earned a third straight match against Central Oklahoma. UNK defeated Central Oklahoma 5-1, setting up a match with No. 2 Washburn in the regional final.
“Once we beat (Central Oklahoma), I could just tell the girls we’re very eager to play Washburn again because I feel like they had something to prove,” Shafer said. “I think Washburn kind of lost a lot of confidence losing late at the end of the year to Northwest Missouri.”
The Lopers went down to Washburn 1-0 early after losing a best two-out-of-three series in doubles. Seniors Clare Plachy, Alexis Bernthal, Narinda Ranaivo and sophomore Tanya Midzi all won their singles matches in straight sets to defeat Washburn 4-2.
“Just getting to go to Regionals was super exciting,” said Bernthal. “Then once we were there, I think we were all pretty motivated and determined to fight for each other. And I think that’s what kind of led us to success.”
Four of the six players on this year’s tournament team are seniors, something that Shafer can’t put a value on.
“Every coach should say this, you know, having seniors is invaluable,” Shafer said. “They prepare right. They’re ready. They’re not surprised by anything.”
Their experience has also fueled their best on the court, according to Ranaivo.
“We have been together for a while now, so we know each other,” Ranaivo said. “It’s great to just fight alongside them. All of us just have accumulated a lot of experience on court and off court, and I think that helps each of us a lot this year to play our best.”
The Lopers are the No. 10 seed in Altamonte Springs, Florida, where a rematch of last year’s Sweet 16 match against No. 7 Azusa Pacific holds a quarterfinal spot on the line.
“It’s not every day that you get to go to Florida and get to go play tennis in Florida,” Bernthal said. “I feel like that’s such a blessing and such an amazing opportunity. So (I’m) definitely enjoying it while I’m there and hopefully just making the best of it with the teammates.”
With the competition getting more competitive at nationals, Ranaivo likes the thrill of playing tough teams.
“I really like playing teams that are really good and where the chances of winning are very equal,” Ranaivo said. “I think it just makes it a little more challenging. The thrill of like we go in the match and we can either win or we can lose.”
The temperature is in the 90s in Florida, but UNK is leaning on its experience from last year to make a run for a championship.
“We kind of know what to expect,” Bernthal said. “We’ve seen the courts. Last year, it was just kind of like this moment of bliss. ‘Oh my gosh, you get here. This is amazing,’ type of deal. This year we will have been there before. Hopefully, we can kind of get more down to business and see how far we can go.”
