Kansas Tennis Opens Fall Season Friday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s tennis will open the fall season with a split schedule as the Jayhawks will participate in both the Midland Invitational and the CCLR Collegiate Invite Sept. 12-14. Seven Jayhawks will make their way to Midland, Texas for the Midland Invitational, while four KU players will head to Little Rock, Arkansas for the CCLR Collegiate Invite.
With eight new players on the roster, including seven freshmen, Kansas second-year head coach Todd Chapman looks for the fall tournaments to provide opportunities for his players to grow and gain some quality experience in preparation for the spring season, which begins in January.
“The exciting part about our fall schedule is our players are going to get to play opponents from all over the country,” said Chapman. “These are challenging events. The fall season is designed for development and gaining confidence. We have eight new players, seven of whom are freshmen. I think this fall schedule will give them the truest idea of what college tennis is about.”
Chapman will travel with senior Maria Belen Ludueña, junior Maria Jose Cardona and freshmen Madison Harrison and Rachel McNeely to the CCLR Collegiate Invite, while assistant coach Aaron Fuller will travel to the Midland Invitational Texas with a line up consisting of freshmen Smith Hinton, Summer Collins, Lauren Pickens, Alexis Czapinski and Melinda Johnson and sophomores Jasmine Almaguer and Caroline Henderson.
Although the team has only been back on campus for a few weeks preparing for the 2014-15 season and is littered with newcomers, Chapman is pleased so far with the willingness of his team to work hard and is looking forward to watching them evolve as tennis players.
“We look for players who want to develop in their four years here (at KU),” said Chapman, who led the Jayhawks to their highest national ranking in program history in 2013-14. “Our biggest focus is what we do on a daily basis and how we’re going about it. Whether it’s from a tennis, strength and conditioning or psychological standpoint. Then the end results will take care of themselves.”
Follow KUAthletics.com for updates and results from both the Midland Invitational and the CCLR Collegiate Invite.
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