Youthful tennis season filled with surprise, talent

The UNC Asheville women's tennis team finished its season 12-9 overall and 3-5 in the Big South Conference after falling to Coastal Carolina in the 2009 Big South Women's Tennis Championship.

In reflecting upon the season, the women said, above all, they learned the importance of solidarity among the team.

"Every time I watch my teammates play I learn something from them," said junior Tania Mateva. "I learned that having a close team can lead to some great wins, and with our hard work, anything is possible."

The team went 68-55 overall in their singles matches for the season. Freshman Devon Cavanaugh led the women, finishing 14-6.

"I wanted to go out this season and prove myself to my teammates and my coach," Cavanaugh said. "I wanted to prove that I was a dedicated, hardworking teammate, and I feel like I accomplished those personal goals."

The women finished 34-28 in doubles matches, with Cavanaugh and junior Louise Bottomley leading 12-8 for the season.

"We definitely achieved a lot as a team this season," Bottomley said. "I was the captain of a young team, so it was a new experience for me to try and offer some leadership to the team."

The team said in order to improve the women ought to continue on the path they set this season.

"I think we need to continue working as hard as we did on a daily basis this year, and just come into the start of next season in better shape than ever," Cavanaugh said.

Sophomore Stephanie Schon said the women need to bring more intensity to their game in the future.

"It is important to start out with an aggressive mentality from the very beginning," she said. "Coach always tells us to play to win, don't play not to lose."

The women finished with an 8-2 record at home.

"My personal goal for the season was to go out and give 100 percent every single time, and I gained a bit of confidence from our results this year," Mateva said.

The team said the collective conference victories, in particular, helped make this season unforgettable.

"Beating Charleston Southern in the first conference match of my college tennis career was unreal," said Cavanaugh. "It was the best feeling in the world celebrating that victory with my team and coaches, and you can't trade memories like that."

The Charleston Southern victory meant a lot to Mateva for a more personal reason.

"As a junior, this was the first conference match we had ever won," Mateva said. "Winning that match was unbelievable, and it gave us some confidence and the belief that we would continue to do well throughout the season."

"We improved tremendously this season," she said. "If we just keep doing what we did next year, then we can only expect to improve just as much."

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