Lacey Luina believes that winning two Regional matches and advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 would mean just a little more for the ESU women’s tennis team.
That’s because the players have known the disappointment of not getting there.
“This team knows what it’s like to lose,” Luina said. “We’re going to be out for blood.”
ESU will start NCAA Tournament play at 3 p.m. Thursday, playing host to Mesa State at the Milton Courts on the ESU campus.
The Lady Hornets need to win two duals to advance to the Sweet 16 in Altamonte Springs, Fla. — a feat that has never been accomplished in school history.
That doesn’t mean ESU hasn’t come close. In 2005, the women won their first match at their home regional before falling to Northwest Missouri State, 5-1, in the second round.
In 2006, the Lady Hornets again fell to NWMSU by a 5-4 score.
“I think it’d be a feather in our hat if we advanced there,” ESU coach John Cayton said. “We’re not counting chickens, though — we’re not thinking about that yet. We’ve talked a lot about going one round at a time and just seeing what’s right in front of us.”
For now, that’s Mesa State, which ESU defeated 8-1 on Sept. 21 of last year. The Lady Hornets took all the double matches and also won in the No. 1 through No. 5 singles positions.
“We know they switched their lineup,” ESU senior Karly Schultz said. “You can never underestimate a team at this point.”
Mesa State enters with a 14-8 record, advancing to the NCAAs after winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships.
If ESU were to win, it would most likely play Nebraska-Omaha (12-5) at 3 p.m. on Friday at the Milton Courts. The Lady Hornets lost to UNO, 5-4, in Omaha on March 3.
The Mavericks were the North Central Conference’s regular-season and tournament champion.
One advantage ESU would have is playing at home on the outdoor courts. The Lady Hornets have played most of their matches outdoors, whereas teams like UNO primarily play matches on indoor courts.
“We definitely hope that will be to our advantage,” Cayton said. “I think it will be. We’re used to the conditions.”
The Lady Hornets also hope to get a boost from a home-court crowd. Admission is $4 for adults and $2 for senior citizens, children and college students with IDs.
“It puts more pressure on us, which is good,” Schultz said. “We’ll have some fans out here and also our familes. All in all, it’s to our advantage.”
“Walking the halls going to class, people have told us they support us,” Luina said. “We’ll see if they come out to watch us.”
On the men’s side, ESU will participate in its first NCAA Tournament ever, traveling to Topeka to face the top-seeded Washburn Ichabods at 1 p.m. Thursday.
ESU (10-6) will look to improve on its last outing against WU. The Hornets were swept 9-0 in the two teams’ dual in Emporia on April 4.
“Every spot is winnable, it just depends on how we play,” ESU senior Kevin Arnhold said. “We can’t get swept in doubles. It becomes very difficult to win when you get down 3-0.”
ESU advanced after playing in arguably the toughest men’s tennis conference in the nation. All five MIAA teams advanced to Regionals, and three are nationally ranked.
The Hornets made the jump to the NCAAs after posting a 1-17 record just two seasons ago.
ESU women’s tennis squad has 6 selections
on All-MIAA team
All six members of the Emporia State women’s tennis team earned All-MIAA honors, the conference announced Tuesday.
Karly Schultz was the only unanimous selection on the first team in both singles and doubles. Schultz’s doubles partner, Marcela Bayon, and the No. 2 doubles team of Natalie Villaflor and Lacey Luina also earned first-team honors.
Villaflor, Luina and Audrey Sherman were placed on the second team in singles, while Sherman and Molly Bowman were honorable mention at No. 3 doubles.
Villaflor also earned the Sportsmanship Award from the league coaches.