Lady Hawks face tough schedule to start season

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon women's tennis team expects to be challenged this season.

With a third of the schedule featuring opponents ranked in the ITA Regional rankings, the Lady Hawks know they will have to be at their best this spring.

"We're going to be challenged by the teams we play. This is the toughest schedule we've had since I've been here," senior Christian Vick said. "But I think this is a strong team with a lot of potential. We want to win the conference title and go as far as we can this season."

The Lady Hawks' schedule includes eight teams ranked in the ITA Atlantic South, Central and Northeast Regionals. The rankings for the ITA West Regional were not posted on the ITA website.

Emory is ranked first in the ITA Atlantic South Region and No. 3 in the nation. Methodist is No. 8 in the Atlantic South, Hollins is 14th, Birmingham-Southern is 15th, Sweet Briar is 18th and Agnes Scott is 20th in the region. Case Western is 14th in the ITA Central Regional and Wesleyan is 18th in the Northeast Regional.

Huntingdon plays Emory and Methodist in the first four matches and will face Agnes Scott in the seventh match.

"This is the toughest schedule we've played," Huntingdon head coach Ximena Moore said. "Playing a tough schedule and facing the best competition will help prepare us for the end of the season."

The Lady Hawks have made five straight appearances in the Great South Athletic Conference finals, winning the conference title in 2007 and 2008. Huntingdon lost to Agnes Scott in the GSAC finals last season.

The Lady Hawks host Mississippi College on Sunday in the first match of the season. The match is set for 1 p.m. at the newly renovated Gibbs Tennis Complex.

"It's exciting to get started. We want to see what we can do under pressure and how we handle adversity in competition," Moore said. "It's also exciting for us to be able to play on the new courts. To be part of the first team to play on the new courts is special."

The Lady Hawks enter the season with three returning players. In addition to Vick, Huntingdon returns junior Katie Scott and sophomore Hannah Creamer. Scott and Creamer were All-Conference performers last season.

The remainder of the team is comprised of six freshmen.

"We have good team chemistry and everyone has a strong drive to be their best," Vick said. "We have a big freshman class and we're counting on them to step up and play well."