The women’s tennis team was in action this past weekend playing against opponents from a higher NCAA category. The Tigers competed against crosstown rivals St. Mary’s University, a Division II school, on Saturday morning after a long rain delay and then against Division I opponents Texas A&M University-Kingsville later in the afternoon.

The Tigers came into the weekend ranked No. 16 in Division III and were eager to test their skills against some tough opponents. The morning session was a test of patience for the Tigers. The St. Mary’s Rattlers swept all three doubles matches and won five out of six singles matches. The afternoon yielded more positive results. Although Trinity was swept in doubles again, juniors Caroline Kutach and Andrea De Leon were each able to grind out a win in their singles matches.

“It’s always nice to win against an opponent from a higher division. It’s good for my confidence and hopefully will help string together more positive results as the season progresses,” De Leon said.

Senior Marie Lutz claimed the feeling amongst the team regarding the rest of their season is positive, despite the results against their first opponents. She said this last weekend was an opportunity to get on the court and kick off their season.

“Playing against opponents from a higher level really gives us a chance to assess where our team stands, as well as gives us an opportunity to fine tune our skills against tougher opponents in order to prepare for our season,” Lutz said.

Lutz also spoke about her goals for the upcoming season.

“The goal is to win conference. We have a strong team and I like our chances. This is the deepest team we have had in my four years of being here, so the goal is to win in Colorado this year,” Lutz said, referring to the location of this year’s SCAC Championships.

However, she made it clear that there is still a long road ahead for the team.

“In order to accomplish our goals, our team really needs to improve our fitness levels, Fitness is key to win matches. Also team chemistry for doubles is another thing we need to work on. The girls need to learn each others games so we can truly succeed on the court,” Lutz said.

Other members of the team agreed with Lutz, making it clear that one of their most important focuses is team chemistry.

“This weekend was a good experience for us because we got to compete against opponents that compete at a higher level and that’s always good practice. We also got to test out a few different doubles teams which is always good so we can work on our chemistry,” said sophomore Meredith Jackson.

The women’s tennis team heads to Ohio at the weekend, marking the start to their Division III season.