With so much hype surrounding highly publicized sports such as men’s and women’s basketball, tennis gets thrown into the background of campus life. The women’s tennis team at Marquette, however, is on the rise and working hard to step into the limelight. Not only has the team grown – last season hosting eight players, this year gaining four more – but the team has also gained a new assistant coach, Heather Saluri. She is another factor helping bring the team out of the shadows.

With the addition of new players, each member of the team has stepped up their personal game to earn their spots on the starting roster, which has greatly impacted the intensity and work ethic of the entire team. The women’s team ranges pretty evenly from freshmen to seniors, giving the team a diverse group of ladies. Between the levels of experience in college level play, many different perspectives and levels are being represented in the team this year, giving the Marquette ladies an advantage on and off the court.

So far, the season has been about growing: celebrating a new team, learning from disappointments and working hard to produce better results statistically. The women started the season strong at home against top teams such as Illinois, Iowa and Louisville. Although they did not pull out a victory, the women played hard, coming together as a team and taking away a good learning experience. The season has been full of new challenges for the Golden Eagles, and the ladies are taking it one day at a time, focusing their energies on maintaining team chemistry and working to pull out some victories against upcoming Big East teams. “The team has grown a lot this year” senior Dominika Dabrowski said. “We all motivate each other to work hard… the team chemistry is also great.” The next matches played at home will be against Northern Illinois and University of Connecticut on Feb. 23. With ten remaining matches being played at Marquette, students and Marquette community members have the opportunity to get out and support the ladies to victory.

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