This week, I sat down with women's tennis players Shelley Carpeni '12 and Jeri Reichel '13 to discuss the team's season and its quest to defend the Ivy League title.
The team won Ivies last year. How's this season looking so far?
SC: This season has definitely been a bit tougher than last year. I think we've had a much tougher schedule, and although we haven't won as many matches as last year, I think we're very well-prepared for the upcoming Ivy season. We have struggled with a lot of injuries and that has definitely taken a toll on our results. Our win over Cal Poly was huge, and we have had a different mentality in the two matches since. Beating Boston University [on Saturday] 7-0 was a strong result and we are hoping to carry that momentum into Ivies.
JR: I'd echo that we've really struggled with injuries. Many of our top players were out of the lineup for a while and some still are. Akiko [Okuda '15] is only one who hasn't seen the trainer.
I hear the team is a big fan of the trainer?
JR: We all love our trainer, Darren [Mustin]. He's a great trainer, and we vie for his attention and get jealous when he shows other girls on the team attention. He's a beautiful man.
The team took a spring break trip to California. How was that?
SC: The trip out to California was really fun. We've gone there all of my four years on the team, and it's great every year. The first few days, the weather was kind of gross, which is not what you expect in California, but got better.
JR: Spring break was great. We got to see some alums from the team like Molly Scott '11 and Carley Markovitz '10. We worked really hard and played three very tough teams. I learned how to play bocci ball at [my teammate's] house which was a fun experience.
Shelley, you're now one of three Brits on the team. How's that been?SC: It's great having Sabrina [Stewart '14] and Theresa [Smith '15] around. We bond over weird words and things we know that nobody else does. They're the ones with the accents, so they sound better than I do.
JR: They definitely sound the smartest on the team.
Assistant coach Dave Jones (DJ) switched from the men's program to the women's program last year. How's having DJ around been?
JR: We love DJ. DJ is famous for his mustache and said he would shave it if we win Ivies again this year. He was supposed to shave it last year but got out of it since we shared our Ivy title. This year our goal is to win it full out, so he has no excuse not to shave the 'stache.
SC: DJ likes to play jokes on coach Bob [Dallis] with us. He has a really good sense of humor, and we were glad to steal him from the men's team last year.
The Ivy season starts this week with a home match Friday against Columbia University. How are you preparing for the match?
SC: We really want to beat Columbia, especially since we lost to them earlier this season at ECACs. Winning that first Ivy match is key and we need to do it to defend our championship.
JR: We're hoping for some outdoor matches this season. None of us have ever played an Ivy match at the Topliff courts. The men's team played one two years ago and the atmosphere was crazy. Fan support in the Ivy season is huge, and we hope to have some big crowds if we play at Topliff.
What are some keys to doing well in the Ivy season?
SC: The team is really big on communicating, so communication will be key for us as we go into Ivies. Practice makes perfect, so as long as we work hard in practice and get in the right mind frame, I think we'll do well in Ivies.
The team takes on Columbia University on Friday at 3 p.m. and Cornell University on Saturday at 12 p.m. in Hanover.