There are advantages to being a young team. They are often underestimated until proven otherwise. Quinnipiac women’s tennis proved that last season, when the only opponent it fell to was Fairfield in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss in the MAAC Finals.
But that same young team is back and more determined to prove themselves than ever.
“This year we have really been focusing on being extra positive on the court and being accountable for each other,” sophomore Caitlin Flower said. “We’re really eager, excited to win, to be successful.”
Quinnipiac only lost two players last year, Dominique Yeo ‘24 and Alexandra Luehrman ‘24, and added three new faces to the lineup.
And some of them have already made their mark. Despite being a freshman, Willow Renton played the No. 1 — the strongest and highest — position in a few of the preseason games, similarly to how the now-sophomore Anagha Shankar started her collegiate career last season.
Freshman Trista Caffyn-Parsons lost both of her matches she played at the No. 6 spot, and her fellow freshman Isabella Sicignano hasn’t seen the court just yet.
After the loss of Yeo, graduate student Jordan Bradley — who still plays comfortably at the No. 5-6 position — took over the reins of captaincy.
“Jordan does really well with keeping us all together and teaching us,” Flower said. “It’s just really fun to learn how everyone competes with each other.”
Bradley and her fellow graduate student Jenna Sloan are the only “seniors” of the team, as aside from junior Vera Sekerina, all of the other returners are sophomores.
And yet, that young team dominated the MAAC last year.
“We have been really successful in the past against Fairfield and I think we kinda underestimated them a little bit,” Flower said. “When we lost, it was a little bit of a surprise. This year, we’re focusing on taking it really seriously and putting in the work that needs to be put in to have a successful season and hopefully get the win at the end.”
And while Quinnipiac’s record (2-5) looks a tad disappointing right now, the scores don’t show the quality of one’s play. The Bobcats have faced opponents such as Yale, who are ranked No. 24 in the country, and yes they might’ve lost 0-7, but that’s not what they focus on.
“They’re really good obviously and we lost that,” Flower said. “But everyone was competitive and it was a good atmosphere.”
The Bobcats also saw some changes on the doubles line-up, most notably the separation of Flower and sophomore Caroline Schulson who played together all through the last season. Now, Flower pairs up at No. 1 with Renton, while Schulson moved to No. 3 alongside Bradley.
The doubles pairs are rounded out with Sekerina and Shankar securing the No. 2 spot.
Quinnipiac started MAAC play Feb. 28 at Niagara where it won 4-3 and is now entering a near month-long conference play break, during which it will face four different opponents in Orlando, Florida.
The Bobcats’ first home game will be March 23 against non-conference opponent LIU, before they host Merrimack on March 29 on the tennis courts in North Lot on Mount Carmel Campus.
“Playing for your school is an honor to have,” Flower said. “Getting to have an audience, friends coming to watch you, it’s just really nice to have that. Last year, when we first came and they were still being built, we had to drive off and go to these high school courts, which was fine but it wasn’t very convenient. Being in the MAAC, not every school has that and we’re just really grateful.”
