Issue date: 9/4/08 Section: Sports

The men's and women's tennis teams are gearing up to begin their 2008 season in a big way.

The women will play first at the Truman Invitational on Friday, and the men soon will follow at home in the Town & Gown scrimmage on Sunday.

The women are coming off of a historic season. The Bulldogs had a 22-6 record last year. The 22 wins were the most in Truman's history, so the 'Dogs will have their work cut out for them to match last season's success.

Without alumna Jennifer Salmon, the No. 1 player for the past three seasons, the women have had to rework their lineup during preseason.

"We're still in the middle of [deciding the lineup] by playing matches among the players," head coach Pete Kendall said. "A couple new players will be in it, and we'll have at least one new doubles team."

The Bulldogs will return two seniors to fulfill the leadership role.

"We have two seniors, Lindsy [Blair] and Courtney [Walther], who will be playing one and two [in singles]," Kendall said. "They will also be playing doubles together."

Blair played No. 2 singles last year and has an overall singles record of 74-7 during her three years at Truman.

Blair and Walther have been doubles partners for three years and are experienced at the No. 1 doubles spot.

Sophomore Amy Ochs, a hopeful for the No. 3 singles spot, had a record of 25-1 last season at the No. 5 singles spot. Ochs was doubles partners with Salmon last year, and with two freshmen, Ellen Russell and Dagmar Velez, vying for playing time, the doubles teams are still up in the air.

"Coach is going to mix and match some at practice to see how teams work together," Blair said.

The women will be playing in the Truman Invitational and the Western Illinois Invitational within the next couple of weeks. The Truman Invitational is a singles-only tournament, and the team has been practicing accordingly.

"We have been doing a lot of singles play and singles drills at practice to get ready for [the Invitational]," Blair said. "The Western Illinois [tournament] is both singles and doubles, so I am guessing in the next couple weeks we will start playing more doubles at practice."

Overall, Blair said the women are optimistic entering the season.

"I'd say right now [our attitude] is excitement," she said. "We realize we have a chance of being really good this year, and so we just want to try to do our best and match our potential."

Continued...

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