Nicole Albertson
Staff Writer
Coming from a national ranking season in 2006, the women’s tennis team is gearing up for a new season set to start Saturday at 11 a.m. against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Rising to their highest position as a top-10 national team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and then finishing at No.-14, Head Coach Gualberto Escudero is looking forward to the impressive line up ahead of them, including matches against cross-town rival teams — Southern California and UCLA.
The women’s team is returning several players who helped them rise to the top. Bianca Dulgheru, junior, is the No.-1 singles player and followed closely by Sylvia Kosakowski, junior, as No. 2. The introduction of new freshman players Jillian Braverman, Anete Bandere and Tania Rice gives the team more options for doubles match ups and an added excitement, according to Escudero.
Katia Sabateovera is the newest addition, arriving in early January from Spain, and is an “excellent lefty,” Escudero said. “She was ranked one of the top players in Europe when she was 16.”
Braverman is the younger sister of Natalie Braverman, who left the women’s tennis team last year. “Hopefully she can take over her sister’s spot,” Escudero said. Escudero also said Braverman has a lot of energy when playing doubles and her versatility on the court makes her a good match up with other players.
Escudero said Rice will also bring in new talent as she was an excellent junior in Canada, has great experience to help the team and hits a powerful ball on the ground.
Junior Eva Dickes and Dulgheru will be returning as a duo as they finished last season ranking top 20 in the nation (ITA) in doubles. Other match ups include Bandere and Kosakowski as a team and Braverman and Dickes as another.
“We are going to try different doubles in the first five matches,” Escudero said. And with the new additions of Braverman, Sabateovera and Bandere there are “great choices in double line ups.”
Personal injuries kept the women’s tennis team from maintaining its top 10 ranking from last season. Dickes battled a sore knee but underwent knee surgery this past summer to put her back on the court this season. Senior Caroline Raba has an on and off affair with tendentious in her wrist. An extra player on the team will allow Raba to rest her injury when it flares up and will also “keep her in great condition,” Escudero said, so that she can consistently play.
Dulgheru suffered last season from a sore shoulder and is now mixing rest and strengthening exercises to keep her shoulder in good shape. she will try a new way to serve by starting with her arm up in the air and pulling down, rather than swinging it back first. Escudero said he is strongly encouraging Dulgheru to “keep her exercises up” so that she can last the season to the final conference.
Kosakowski will also be battling a shoulder injury and is working on serving her usual 180 mph serve at 80 percent speed in order to conserve strength and minimize damage to her shoulder.
Escudero said goals this season include “earning the 14th position” with which they are starting the season with, defeating the top teams ahead of them and keeping the team healthier throughout the season. Escudero has also devised a plan to encourage the already successful women’s team; if they beat Stanford — last year they lost by one point — Escudero will get a tattoo on his ink-free arm.
Escudero said he is “excited by the whole line” of teams they will be playing and looks forward to an exciting new season.
The new season jumpstarts this Saturday at 11 a.m. at Pepperdine’s Ralph-Straus Tennis Center.
01-18-2007