Rockets Set to Open Winter Slate at Purdue

Saturday, January 14

West Lafayette, IN

3:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Purdue

1/12/2017 10:29:00 AM | Women's Tennis

2016-17 Media Guide

TOLEDO, OH – The women's tennis team will open its 2017 schedule with a trip to West Lafayette, IN on Saturday, Jan. 14 where it will battle Purdue at 3:00 p.m.
"We haven't matched up against Purdue in a while and we're looking forward to it," said head coach Tracy Mauntler. "They're a tough, well-coached team and it will be a great challenge for us to start the season with."

SEASON OUTLOOK

    Mauntler returns for her 14th season at the helm of a Toledo women's tennis team that has a squad has a solid mix of experience and leadership, as well as young talent.
    UT completed its 2015-16 season with its third-straight appearance in the Mid-American Conference tournament. Mauntler and the Rockets have set even bigger goals this season.
    "I'm looking forward to build on the progress we made last season," said Mauntler. "This team has a lot of talent and potential."

THE RETURNING ROCKETS
    Toledo welcomes back five Rocket letterwinners, including juniors Sidnay Huck (Fort Wayne, IN), Megan Miller (Sylvania, OH) and Colleen O'Brien (Ann Arbor, MI) to lead the Rockets in 2016-17. Huck enters her third season as a Rocket, while Miller and O'Brien both transferred to UT last season. Mauntler hopes their experience will help the newcomers prepare for college competition.
    Huck finished last season with a 17-15 mark in singles and 16-12 record in doubles play. She will return to the top of the Rockets' lineup. Mauntler expects her to be a huge leader on and off the court for UT.
    "Sidnay has made huge strides both in her game and as a leader on this team," said Mauntler. "Most recently, I saw her grow a tremendous amount this past fall. She will be at first or second singles, and play against the best. If she keeps improving like she has been, she will see a lot of success this season.
    "Colleen is one of the hardest workers on the team and she constantly leads by example," added Mauntler. "Megan has so much potential. If she continues to work at a high level she has the ability to play very high in our lineup."
    Sophomores Claire Aleck (Ada, MI) and Rani Goodland (Melbourne, Australia) round out the returning players for UT. Aleck recorded a team-best 19-13 record in singles last season.
    "Claire and Rani both work extremely hard every single day," said Mauntler. "Claire is an extremely athletic player and I'm expecting to see a lot of success from her this season. Rani has a huge serve and has been fine-tuning her other weapons to make her game better-rounded."

TALENTED NEWCOMERS
    Joining the 2016-17 roster are freshmen Mimi Kendall-Woseley (Boca Raton, FL) and DeeDee Leenabanchong (Bangkok, Thailand). Kendall-Woseley tallied a 35-15 overall record at Boca Raton Community High School and recorded three victories over players with Universal-S10 rankings. Leenabanchong participated in the ITF National Tournament, Thai National Tournament and Thai National Team Tournament prior to coming to UT.
    "Mimi can compete at a very high level and I expect her to play at the top of the lineup in both singles and doubles," said Mauntler. "Deedee has improved more than anyone else so far this season. She has a ton of tools in her arsenal and is an extremely smart player on the court."

UNDECIDED DOUBLES TEAMS
    Mauntler is confident that they can solidify a talented doubles lineup for the 2016-17 campaign despite losing former Rocket Emily Mazzola to graduation. Mazzola recorded a team-best 18-11 mark at first doubles last season.
    "Graduating talented doubles players is tough because players get so much better as they gain more experience," said Mauntler. "We moved people around in the fall and we will continue to try new combinations as we start the season. We have a lot of talent on this team so I'm confident that it will fall into place."

2016 FALL TOURNAMENT PLAY
    The Rockets had a solid fall campaign this season, winning 38 of 62 singles matches, including a 16-2 mark at the UT Invitational (Oct. 7-9). Mauntler was pleased with her team's improvements over the fall.
    "I thought we had a really solid fall. I saw a lot of great tennis played from our team in some very tough matches," said Mauntler. "We spent some time switching people around in doubles, which will help us get a good idea of the best combinations for the season."

A LOOK AT THE 2017 WINTER/SPRING SCHEDULE
    The Rockets have a tough mix of competition in their 2017 spring schedule, including matchups against Purdue and Michigan State. "I feel that we have a challenging non-conference schedule that will help prepare us for our tough MAC opponents," said Mauntler.
    Toledo will begin its winter slate with a three-match road trip to Purdue (Jan. 14), UIC (Jan. 21) and Chicago State (Jan 22). The Rockets will return to the Glass City on Jan. 27-28 to face Duquesne and Cleveland State, respectively. Toledo will then visit Detroit (Feb. 3) and MSU (Feb. 4), before returning home for a three-match homestand. UT will welcome Cincinnati (Feb. 17), Wright State (Feb. 18) and Butler (March 3).
    The Rockets will return to outdoor play when they travel to Florida for their spring trip. UT's first stop will be in Fort Lauderdale where it will battle Nova Southeastern on March 6. Toledo will then make a short trip north to Boca Raton where it will match up against Florida Atlantic on March 9. UT will return to the Midwest to play at Youngstown State on March 18 in its final tune-up before Mid-American Conference.
    Toledo will begin conference play at home where it will welcome Akron on March 24, before heading out on a four-match road trip. The Rockets will first travel down I-75 to battle Bowling Green on March 26 before visiting Western Michigan on March 31. Toledo will close out its road matches at Northern Illinois (April 1) and at co-MAC regular season champs Miami (April 7). The Rockets will end their season in Toledo when they host 2016 NCAA Tournament team Ball State (April 9), Eastern Michigan (April 15) and Buffalo (April 23).
    "The MAC is extremely strong this year," said Mauntler. "A lot of teams picked up great freshmen, including us. The great thing about this conference is that it is so competitive that you never know who will win."
    The 2016 MAC Tournament will be hosted by Ball State on Friday-Sunday, April 28-30 in Muncie, IN.