The Alabama women’s tennis team will compete at the ITA Regional Championships from Monday to Friday at Auburn University. This is one of the key tournaments of the fall, with top players advancing to the ITA National Championships.
All seven team members will compete individually in singles. Maria Andrienko, Zara Larke, Klara Milicevic and Kristina Paskauskas will compete in the main draw singles. Addison Bowman, Amina Salibayeva and Mary Sidelnyk will compete in qualifying rounds in order to later gain a spot in the main draw.
Head coach Jonatan Berhane said the team’s primary focus at recent practices has been working on confidence and execution.
“We’re priming the girls,” Berhane said. “We’re working on instilling confidence in them to execute what we’re practicing.”
Regionals will provide players with training ahead of the upcoming spring season, where the team will work on developing its skills as a unit.
At the tournament, three new double pairings will be debuted. Previously, at the Debbie Southern Classic, Andrienko and Bowman dropped all three doubles sets in their first tournament as a doubles pairing.
Now, Andrienko will compete again with a different freshman, Sidelnyk, and Bowman will compete with her fellow freshman Salibayeva. Sophomore-junior duo Larke and Paskauskas will also team up to compete together for the first time in doubles.
While this tournament holds importance in showcasing individual players and ultimately deciding who qualifies for the ITA National Championships, Berhane said the team is treating it the same.
“It’s not the first or last,” Berhane said. “There’s always another opportunity.”
Part of treating this tournament the same as the others means maintaining the same effort as usual. For Berhane, this means the team putting in all the effort.
“We have the talent, the ambition, and to be successful, we just need to show up every day,” Berhane said.
This is reflected in the team’s motto, “maximum effort,” which is displayed in its locker room.
“We want maximum effort every time they go on the court,” Berhane said.
