The No. 8 Alabama women’s tennis team is set to host the No. 21 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Feb. 22 at the Roberta Alison Baumgardner Indoor Tennis Facility. This will be the Crimson Tide’s final match before starting SEC play on March 1.
Alabama is coming off an impressive showing after beating the Washington Huskies 5-2 in its last match on Feb. 15.
“I thought it was a good match,” head coach Jenny Mainz said. “We recovered from indoors and need to get more matches and pressure situations. Overall we did a good job.”
Alabama comes into the match with a record of 7-1. Texas Tech comes into the match at 6-1; its only defeat was a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Baylor Bears. The Tide defeated Baylor 4-3 earlier this month at the ITA Indoor National Championships in Charlottesville, Va.
“We are looking forward to playing Texas Tech,” Mainz said. “They are a very good team. They are tenacious and fiery. They are a hard working, competitive team.”
One of the keys for Alabama down the road is to build on the success it has had and keep building confidence.
“We are just trying to continue building forward,” Mainz said. “We want to gain momentum and fine tuning things to get to where we want to be.”
One of the factors that has led to a strong start to the season for the Tide has been the chemistry of the team. Each member of the team supports one another and encourages each other to get better. They play for each other.
“We always fight for each other,” freshman Natallia Maynetto said. “We are always there for each other, and that makes a huge difference. It brings out the spirit and we all want to do well for each other. It makes a huge difference and adds to our success.”
The plan for the Tide this weekend against the Red Raiders is the same as it has been all year: to keep improving and play its own game.
“We really can’t think too much about the result,” Maynetto said. “We need to do what we’ve been doing by going out there and being prepared to give it all we got. We need to take care of business and keep fighting.”
Seven of the eight teams Alabama has faced this year are ranked. The Tide is expecting another tough, competitive match that will help them improve and prepare for conference play. SEC play begins on March 1, and the Tide will travel to face yet another ranked opponent in the Ole Miss Rebels.
“We look forward to it being a very good match,” Mainz said. “We will be ready. We are working very hard to prepare and get ourselves ready, and it is the next step in the schedule for us to get ready for league play.”
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