The tennis season is back in full swing, and the players are trying to bounce back from a month off the courts.

For sophomore Caroline Hauge Andersen, the break from the game has been a year.

Andersen returns this season after an injury kept her out of play. What was first thought to be merely a stress fracture ended up to be an ankle spur that resulted in surgery and a long break from tennis.

“I was out for a year so it was pretty tough because they didn’t quite figure out what my injury was so it took a longer time than it was supposed to,” Andersen said. “That was probably the hardest thing — not to compete, not to travel with the team and not feel as much a part of the team.”

Andersen now works to regain comfort on the court and re-acclimate to the game.

“She’s a fighter,” said Ana Gasparovic, Andersen’s partner for her first dual meet back. “She had a tough time but now she is back, and I think that she is doing a great job.”

Andersen competed in her first regular season match against Iowa last weekend. Gasparovic and she lost their doubles match 2-8.

“The first match I played doubles [doubles number two],” Andersen said. “It was really fun, … it was nice being out there again. We lost, but I felt like I played pretty good, and there is always room for improvement.”

The score of Andersen’s first return to competition was not where she wanted it to be, but she still feels positive. That match started off a long season and got her back into the game.

“She had that big injury, and for an athlete it is really hard to come back, and so she did so great,” Gasparovic said.

After trying Andersen’s return with some doubles play, ISU coach Armando Espinosa hope to get her in some singles play soon.

“She started playing some doubles against Iowa and we will see how her singles start developing so that we can see what she can do and start playing her in some singles matches and see what she can bring to the table in that manner,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa believes that Andersen’s attitude will be the secret to coming back strong.

“She is very enthusiastic about being back and that helps a lot,” Espinosa said. “Attitude helps a lot when it comes to coming back from an injury. So, she is doing a tremendous job with how excited she is to be back on the court hitting balls.”

Andersen is glad to be working with the team again. Her injury and time off resulted in a bit of a struggle when returning to conditioning, but Andersen is confident that she is ready for the season ahead.

“I lost a lot of muscle and tennis practice so all the other girls were kind of one step in front of me,” Andersen said. “But, now, it is getting better, I’m getting more in shape, and my tennis playing is getting better too.”

Even though her first match back fell short, Andersen has her eye on the rest of the season and on a successful build back up in her game.

“For now, I just want to start winning matches,” Andersen said. “I want to start being back in the game that I used to play before, be in my own zone again and try to win for the team and for myself.”