“I was very pleased with the overall tournament and our performance,” coach Jenny Mainz said. “I thought that we finished the fall season on a very high note, and we elevated our games and really responded to the conditions very well. I think we handled ourselves very professionally. I think we stepped it up here in this last tournament of the fall season and just played with a lot of confidence and a lot of authority.”
“It’s tough when it’s windy and cold, but that’s just, I think it’s good because everybody in the tournament, it makes you mentally tough so playing indoors would make it that much easier so it’s good,” junior Natalia Maynetto said. “It’s got its good sides to it.”
Days like Friday and Saturday make indoor tennis look inviting. Saturday’s high was 55 degrees with winds between 19 and 25 miles per hour, which isn’t ideal for tennis.
“With the wind, you’ve got to play with lots of spin and be looking to move forward and catch the shorter balls,” Maynetto said. “The other side, I play with a little, you kind of adjust and stay a little closer to the court so you’re not being pushed back by the wind and just really looking to hit a little more solid.”
Alabama earned 13 of its 33 wins on Saturday. The Crimson Tide won seven of its eight doubles matches and six of its nine singles matches.
Doubles pair Emily Zabor and Danielle Spielmann won two matches Sunday. Maya Jansen and Luicelana Perez also won two doubles matches Sunday. Both won a singles match apiece on the final day. Maynetto and her doubles partner Aryn Greene won a pair of matches Sunday.
The fall classic was Alabama’s final tournament until January. The Crimson Tide will kick off SEC play in February.
“This fall season has been tough for us as a team, but I think we finished really strong,” Jansen said. “I mean we’re all playing a lot better, and I think we all got a lot more wins under our belt, so I think this was a good tournament to end on going into the spring.”
