Tennis plans on serving up improved season

By Margo Consul

It's hard to miss the women's tennis team playing when you walk past the Leavey Center in the late evening.

This weekend the Broncos are heading to Moraga, Calif. for the St. Mary's College Invitational.

"We have a very new team this year," Captain Stephanie Galainena said. "We have three freshmen and a transfer, but they are very, very solid, so I'm expecting good things."

Last season, the Broncos finished with an overall record of 5-18 and went 1-7 in West Coast Conference play, placing them at No. 8 in the conference. The team is determined to turn that around this year.

"I'm expecting a lot of maturity and experience from this group," Head Coach Ben Cabell said.

"A lot of the players have been through this before and so we know what to expect this year unlike last year. I think that will be a really good thing for us to have been through this. We kind of know what we are getting into."

Cabell has all the right reasons to expect a lot out of his team because of the Broncos' depth and potential this season.

"Senior captain Stephanie Galainena is going to be very important," the fourth-year coach added. "She is going to be playing somewhere in the top of the lineup and is going to be a leader on and off the court."

Galainena finished last season at No. 1 with an individual record of 3-1, but finished with a conference record of 0-7.

As the only senior on the team, Galainena wants to finish strong.

"I would like a winning record this year, as well as having the team have a winning record," Galainena said.

"We are in a very tough conference, and it's getting more solid every single year," the Burr Ridge, Ill. native said. "I would probably say our hardest match would be Pepperdine because they are nationally ranked."

Cabell is confident that his team can keep up with the other schools in the WCC.

"There are a couple teams that are really strong and are nationally ranked that are in our conference," said Cabell.

"But everybody else is beatable, which is good. No one is so good that we can't beat them on a good day, which is exciting because that means we have an opportunity to do really, really well."

Sophomore Carmen Pham is another player that the team will look to for leadership.

Last season, Pham finished with an individual overall record of 15-15, a team-best. The San Ramon, Calif. native went 4-1 in conference play last year, which was also a team-high.

She was named to the 2008 WCC Women's Tennis Team."Carmen Pham is going to be really important. She had a great year last year," Cabell said. "(She was) No. 4 last year and is going to have to play somewhere around there and continue to win a lot of matches for us."

Cabell believes the team will also depend on freshmen Kasey Wagner. "Our new freshman Kasey Wagner is going to be an important part of the team too," Cabell said. "She's coming in and will play in the lineup right away and make a big impact for us."

Santa Clara is gearing up and excited for the season. Cabell expects all of his players to perform at their highest level.

"We need everybody. We can't, the way we are set up, rely on one or two people," Cabell added.

Contact Margo Consul at (408) 551-1918 or at mconsul@scu.edu.