Gateway

Issue date: 5/2/08 Section: Sports

Rachel Faulk [Click to enlarge]

Kylie Roe [Click to enlarge]

Kelsey Haas [Click to enlarge]

An up and down season for the UNO tennis team ended this weekend with a third place tie at the North Central Conference tournament in St. Cloud, Minn.

UNO junior Rachel Faulk continued her season-long dominance by capturing the No. 1 singles title, winning 6-4 over North Dakota's Jenna Larson. Faulk later teamed up with team captain Kylie Roe to claim the No. 1 doubles title, trouncing Brittany and Emily Gaster of Augustana 8-2.

Despite its obvious highlights, this tournament was rockier than usual for UNO, winner of the last three conference championships.

It was a tournament in which UNO Head Coach Bill Nichols told his team they had to win, or there would be no automatic spot for them in the NCAA Regional tournament.

This statement was a first for the eight-year coach and may have contributed to the team's overall attitude and performance, Nichols said. That combined with the fact that the Mavs were 12 points down halfway through Saturday made it a lackluster weekend.

"For me, it was the least exciting conference tournament," Nichols said, "Because right from the beginning, we didn't have a chance to win. That took the spark out of us for the last day and a half."

Overall, the 2008 tennis season was a success. Rachel Faulk had the team's best singles season with a .938 winning percentage and an overall record of 15-1. Sara Bredfeldt bounced back from a sub-par 2007 season, in which she went 2-7, and achieved a 10-7 record in 2008.

Off the court, freshman Jenna Nielsen, sophomore Kelsey Haas and Roe were selected to the 2007-08 NCC Commissioners Academic Honor Roll.

A weak point for the Mavs this year was their inability to win away from the friendly confines of the Brandeis Tennis Center in Hanscom Park. The Mavs went winless in all four road contests but went undefeated in all eight home matches. The team's other two wins were at a neutral site in St. Peter, Minn.

With the move to a new conference next year, the Mavs failures or successes will rest on their ability to win on the road and build the confidence necessary to compete away from their familiar surroundings.

The high expectations of a NCC tournament title momentarily came to a halt after this weekend, but it's a sure bet that Nichols will regain those same expectations in his new conference in the years ahead.

"We have a lot of solid personnel being recruited," Nichols said. "At least six new players and possibly some walk-ons."

With standouts Traci Mocklestad from Boone, Iowa, and Samantha Thomas from Wichita, Kan., topping the 2009 recruiting class, the future looks optimistic for the red and black.

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