[Tennis] CSM tennis enters 2019 season with experience, depth

OMAHA, Neb. – The College of Saint Mary tennis team is excited to get the spring season started.

The Flames open competition Saturday against Missouri Valley College at 9 a.m. at the Fremont YMCA. CSM is then scheduled to play Grand View University at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Montgomery YMCA.

"We are returning five of six starters from last year including three First Team All-Conference players," CSM Coach Kim Gradoville said. "Our experience and depth should makes us a force in the Great Plains Athletic Conference."

Key returners include Christina Ternent (SR/Omaha, NE), Katie Golka (SR/Grand Island, Neb.), Allyah Rayyan (SR/Bellevue, Neb.), Marissa Newman (SO/Papillion, Neb.) and Carly Bindl (JR/Papillion, Neb.).

The Flames went 5-2 in the GPAC and 10-8 overall last season. CSM advanced to the 2018 GPAC Postseason Tournament where the Flames defeated Northwestern College in the opening round before falling to Hastings College in the semifinals.

"With our depth and past success, I would expect us to be one of the favorites going into this year," Gradoville said. "We return so many strong players that we should have the depth to compete with anyone."

Gradoville said the Flames have been working hard in practices and were excited to add a couple new players to this year's squad. New doubles combinations are possibly the team's biggest question mark right now.

"We are trying two new doubles combinations so that may take some time to settle in and develop strong chemistry," she said. "However, we are already looking very strong in practice so I expect this to happen quickly.

"This group has a positive attitude and is willing to try new things. I can see great improvements from the fall in terms of quality of our shots as well as our competitive spirit with each other. Everyone wants to do well for both themselves and the team, so it is helping us to continue to raise our level."

Gradoville is looking forward to getting her team on the courts for nonconference contests over the next few weeks and then head into GPAC play in April.

"I expect us to have the opportunity to win every conference match and be more competitive than ever," she said. "Everyone has raised their level, which was high to begin with. I expect us to be in the mix for winning the conference title if we execute to our full potential."