The Alabama women’s tennis team is hard at work in its fall preseason, recently putting on a strong performance in the Roberta Alison Fall Classic and looking forward to the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships.

The Roberta Alison Fall Classic, hosted at the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium, was a major success for the Crimson Tide, who won 10 matches and only dropped three.

One of those losses was to the star of the Tulane Green Wave, Emma Levy. She came out of high school as the second-ranked player in New England and first in her home state of New Jersey. She beat Antonia Foehse in straight sets.

“I was really encouraged,” said head coach Jenny Mainz. “The spirit of the team in the competitive points was great. I feel like we might have left some opportunities out there, and there was disappointment there, but overall it was really encouraging.”

This encouraging play is stemming from the highly competitive practices the Tide has been holding recently.

“We’ve been working hard and working with a purpose every day,” Mainz said. “We’re doing the right things to make each other better. We’re going out everyday and pushing each other to get better.”

After practice on Tuesday, Mainz gave her players a big message on how she wants the team to practice.

“Georgia Tech won a national championship [in 2007],” she said to her team. “Do you want to know why? Because they went to practice with the mentality that they were going to do everything they could to make each other better.”

This mentality is being taken to heart, especially by junior Taylor Lindsey, who is using the preseason to make a statement.

“[The Roberts Alison Fall Classic] was great for us. It showed that we’re back in full force,” Lindsey said.

The Tide is anxious to make its return known to the nation. Alabama has that chance when the team travels to Los Angeles for the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships.

“This is a great chance to make our presence felt,” Lindsey said. “It’s our chance to show we’re back and much better than last year.”

The Tide has four qualifiers for this year’s ITA All-American Championships: Lindsey, Alex Clay, Alexa Guarachi and Courtney McLane. Clay, Guarachi and McLane will be playing qualifying singles.

As for doubles, the duo of Guarachi and McLane is ranked second in the nation and will play main draw doubles, as will the duo of Lindsey and Clay.

“This is an elite tournament,” Mainz said. “If we have the confidence to go out there and compete against the best the nation has to offer, it can create big things for us down the road.”

The team will make the trip without star freshman Mary Anne MacFarlane, who netted three wins in the Roberta Alison Fall Classic. Since she is a freshman, she could not qualify for the event.

The ITA All-American Championships will be the Tide’s last action until Oct. 22, when it participates in ITA Southern Regional Championships in Birmingham.

“Our next few weeks will give us time to compete hard, recover and key in on specifics before we move on,” Mainz said.