The ISU tennis team showed its presence through results against two of the toughest teams in Florida. Senior Ksenia Pronina took the spotlight and showed why she is the number one player this season. 

Pronina went 4-0 and won the championship match in her particular bracket. She exposed her strengths and game strategy to make it seem like she took control of the matches throughout this invitational.  

“My consistency gave me an advantage against my opponents because I was able to run down balls easier,” Pronina said. “This was a nice confidence boost especially after three weeks off for winter break.”

Pronina was able to use this weekend to evaluate her weaknesses, so she can focus her practice on specific areas.

Junior Alejandra Galvis competed in the championship match, but received second place. This accomplishment has helped Galvis in her confidence, but there’s still work to prepare for the regular season.

“I figured out that I can change my game to make my opponents question their next shot,” Galvis said. “I still need to continue to work on strength and conditioning, so my mobility is up to par.”

Senior Meghan Cassens and junior Ana Gasparovic earned third place in the doubles bracket. Cassens believes that everything will be improved before the first regular season match. 

“It seemed like we were rusty in the beginning of the weekend, but we started focusing and beat a couple tough opponents at Florida Gulf Coast,” Cassens said. 

The only concerning news coming out of this competition is the injury sophomore Samantha Budai suffered Jan. 18.

“Sami was bothered by a hip injury, so we decided to pull her out for the weekend,” said coach Armando Espinosa. “Hopefully, it’s not that serious and she can practice towards the end of the week.”

Espinosa was impressed with the success the team had this weekend and now is focusing on particular areas during practice until the Omaha match. 

“Since singles went well this weekend, we need to focus on doubles because the points for doubles will make or break most teams in the Big 12 this regular season,” Espinosa said. 

The team will have two weeks of practice and will start their regular season at 1 p.m. Jan. 30 against Omaha at the Ames Racquet and Fitness Center.