With Chartwells Complex set to open this Friday, the Golden Suns tennis team is set to compete in a two-day tournament. Tech will mix it up with 10 other regional schools including conference foes Delta State, Southern Arkansas, Ouachita Baptist, and Henderson State. As Coach Abby Davis enters her fourth year as tennis coach, this tournament proves to be a great kickoff to a new generation of tennis at Arkansas Tech University.

Each year, Davis gets involved in a fall tournament so she can gauge where the team is at. “In the fall, we play two tournaments and two dual matches,” Davis said. “It’s just a tournament, and we have a new facility that I want to show off.” With the tough competition coming in for the weekend, Davis has a few goals for the tournament. “We’ll see where we’re at, the kids will get an idea of the competition that they’re going to face, and this tournament will make the conference teams play their cards early.” Heading into the tournament, a few new faces will top the order of the team: Anna Carson, a junior transfer from Oklahoma State, will be the number one, Saki Matsuoka, an exchange student from Japan, will be the two, Michelle Yu, a freshman from Texas, will be the three, senior Puja Paul, last year’s number two, will be the four spot, Kristen Burgess, a junior, will play the five, and Whitney Simmons, the only four-year player on the team, will fill the sixth spot.

Veteran leadership on the team will be very important. Freshman Jessica James is glad to have the seniors on the squad. “I was nervous about the big change from high school to college, but I fit in really well,” James said. “I have a lot to learn from them.” James isn’t the only player that looks to the seniors for help; Davis spoke highly of Renee Malcuit, a senior transfer from Grossmont. Davis said of Malcuit that she has maturity and takes care of everybody.

“I’m older than everybody, so I give them support and encourage everybody,” Malcuit said. “I’m always there, like the mom.” Along with Malcuit’s leadership, Whitney Simmons feels that eyes are on her in the locker room, “I like knowing what’s going to happen, helping others, and giving them confidence.”

With the top three players all being new to the team, Tech will offer a much different look to all of the competition not just this weekend, but for the whole season. Anna Carson, with her experience in Division I play, is looked upon with an expectation to win. “I put pressure on myself, and the team expects me to win,” Carson added. Another new face is Saki Matsuoka, a first-year player from Japan. “I want to learn to communicate better with the team and enjoy the game,” Matsuoka said. “I’m very confident.” Behind the interchangeable 1-2 combination, Michelle Yu is poised and ready to compete at top-level. Yu said of the tournament and her play, “I want to relax, it’s about having fun and I’m fortunate to be here.” Another leader that has confidence not just in the team, but in the coach also, is assistant Shaun Wiseman.

“A lot of coaches get caught up in wins and losses, but she’s not about just winning,” Wiseman said. “She’s about molding student athletes and creating good people.” Another key factor stressed with the team is fan attendance. This is the first year in recent history that Tech has had an on-campus tennis facility and matches. Many of the players would like to see student turn out to the events. “It’s not as boring as it sounds,” Carson said. “It’s going to be fun.” With her experience at a larger university, she experienced fan turnouts at most matches, saying that it was great “knowing that the school cared and saw us as a real sport.” Puja Paul also feels that fan turnouts will help the team and her personally, “I’m a player that likes people to be there cheering.” Fourth-year player Whitney Simmons also feels similar. Never having had a home court in her collegiate career, she looks forward to the possibilities. “We definitely want people to come watch us,” Simmons said, “Students supporting us will help us a lot.”

This tournament proves to be exciting and influential as the tennis season approaches. The team is poised to perform well, give fans something to watch, and instill fear in conference opponents with its new look.