To say that the Mississippi State women’s tennis team is going through a rebuilding phase this season would be an extreme understatement.
For junior Renee Joseph, the only upperclassman on the Lady Bulldogs’ roster, this season’s success will not depend on wins and losses but how good a job she does holding the team together.
Toward the end of the 2006 season, she was thrown into the role of team leader after lots of turmoil, and it was no easy task getting used to the new role.
“It was very tough in the beginning,” Joseph said. “I felt a little lost, but I knew that if I didn’t step up, the team would fall apart. So after talking a lot with close friends and staying close to God, I was able to rise to the challenge.”
Last season ended with one win in the SEC and an early first round exit in the SEC tournament in April.
“It was painful last season,” Joseph said. “There were a lot of tears. But the nice thing was that we kind of went through a purging process and that is always painful.”
At season’s end, Joseph continued to work on her game and polish her leadership abilities.
“I feel one hundred times more prepared after the summer,” Joseph said. “I really worked hard to get to the point where I am now. I did a lot of conditioning and weights in the summer. I also had a lot of one-on-one time with the coaches to work on technical things in my game.”
Joseph’s emotion was felt at the beginning of the fall season.
Sophomore Tatiana Feit won the orange draw of the Roberta Alison Fall Classic in Tuscaloosa, Ala., defeating Auburn’s Jil Hastenrath 6-1, 6-0.
Freshman Valeriya Makarycheva concluded her first collegiate weekend with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Vanderbilt’s Caroline Ferrell to take third-place honors in her draw.
Joseph, not to be outdone by her teammates, finished up her singles play with a victory over Shelley Godwin of Alabama 6-4, 6-3 to win her draw’s consolation honors.
The way the team performed on the first tournament of the season had a lot to do with what Joseph is trying to get across to her teammates.
“The returning players already know we are trying to have a better season than last year,” Joseph said. “For the freshmen, I’m just going to explain to them about the pride everyone should have in wearing the maroon and white and that we represent so many more people than just ourselves.”
Fall play for the team continues for the Lady Dogs this weekend.
They are back in Tuscaloosa for the ITA South Regional Championships.