Denise Chiao and Meara Smith play a double against tow other players. Joyce Stevenson | Staff Photographer

“The wind today wasn’t steady and it was gusting so you feel like you have a handle on your shots with the wind but its hard to manage and be consistent,” Griffon Women’s Tennis Coach Ron Selkirk said. “I was glad the girls weren’t too cautious and just let the game flow, learning how to manage the elements. It’s just the matter of being patient.”

The match started off with doubles action and the Griffons soared, getting three points with No. 1 Meara Smith and Denise Chiao getting an 8-3 victory.
No. 2 Kayla Dysart and Alyssa Dougan paired up to defeat Kamaria Braye and Ashley Rolling 8-1.

“Everybody is figuring it out and hitting their stride,” sophomore Kayla Dysart said.

Ceara Boldridge and Jody Goers defeated Gabrielle Quine and Jasmine Daniel 8-4 in the No. 3 doubles.

“I think we started off slow but once we got into the groove we started to play better,” freshman Jody Goers said. “The wind was really affecting the balls we were hitting but when we are on our game and believe in ourselves, I feel like we can play with any of the other schools.”

With singles action, the Griffons’ Denise Chiao made quick of her opponent, defeating Gober 6-1, 6-0.

“In doubles, I felt like me and Meara gelled pretty well,” freshman Denise Chiao said. ”I had to really adjust to wind starting off. I feel like our whole entire team is getting mentally tough and positive in every match. “
In No. 2 singles, Kayla Dysart defeated Braye 6-2, 6-0.

“The wind definintly wasn’t a fun thing to play with but soon as I settled down, I felt like I played pretty well,” sophomore Kayla Dysart said.

Meara Smith pulled out a win against Katrevich in No. 3 singles 6-4, 6-2 and Boldridge rolled over Roling 6-1, 6-1. Lindsay Beger won over Quinn 6-4, 6-2 and Alyssa Dougan started off slow but finished her match in a fury over Daniel 6-4, 6-0.
With this win, the Griffons dropped the Tigers to 1-8 overall and 0-8 MIAA match play.

“Coming in today, I feel like we’ve definetly been playing better and playing with confidence,” Selkirk said.

The Griffons’ next matchup is against the William Jewell Cardinals in St. Joseph, Mo. Match play is set to start at 2:00 pm.

Denise Chiao played the most competitive match of the Griffons, falling to Ivana Belajova 6-2, 6-3.

Northeastern improved to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.  The Griffons next match is Feb. 22 against Lincoln University and Maryville University at the St. Joseph Tennis and Swim Club with a start time of 9:30 a.m.

This is a big improvement from last year, considering the fact the team only won three games total, with two of the three wins coming from conference-opponent Lincoln.

This year’s squad is fairly young, with the majority of the team being freshman and sophomores. Head coach Ron Selkirk feels that a lot of the girls this year are still getting used to playing in on a higher level than normal because of how young they are.

“I think most of these young girls have not played on the level of Division II college tennis,” Selkirk said. “Most of them are learning that it is truly a more stronger and consistent game than what they have found in their high school careers.”

Selkirk stated that he noticed the team was a lot better than he expected at the beginning of the season. The team has won some important close games, and as the competition gets tougher, he is starting to see constant growth from the girls.

This year’s team has not backed down from any of the teams that they have faced this season. Selkirk feels that even with the better teams that they have played, his team is putting in a strong effort each time they suit up to play.

“I do think that they have been overwhelmed sometimes by some of the stronger teams that we have came across,” Selkirk said. “But I also feel that when they walk off the court, they feel like they could have done better. Before you can be competitive in a situation, you have to go out and make it a close game to begin with.”

Selkirk also stated that as the girls grow and gain more experience, the more the team will develop into a strong contender. Experience seems to be what the team is lacking, but the will to win has been shown by all the girls including the freshman.

The team has a lot of players that have stepped up to the challenge, and have shown that they will continue to get better. Alecia Jenkins is the only senior on the team, but has played very well and has continued to show good leadership toward the team in her first year on varsity.

Sophomore Katie Fields has also had a fairly strong season thus far, and Selkirk hopes that her play will continue as the season progresses.

The mental part of the game is something that Selkirk said he has continued to teach to his players. Being able to compete and hustle for an entire match – no matter the score — is what he wants his girls to learn and show when they step on the court.

The 2010 Tennis season is well behind coach Ron Selkirk and his team. The season is over; done; finished. 2011 has started and there could not be better news surrounding the tennis team.

Last year, finishing with a record of 0-7 in the conference and 3-15 overall, Western did not look anywhere near a team ready for the MIAA tournament. They drew the number one seed, Northwest Missouri, and was ousted 5-0.

In just the first week of competition of the 2011 season, Western has already won two games, just one less than the total of last season, and already looks more competitive. This is definitely something coach Selkirk can build on.

“We’re doing pretty good,” Selkirk said. “I would have liked to have been 4-0 but they’re things to build on.”

Western defeated Lincoln University last Friday, a team they lost to 8-1 a year ago. Not only did Western get payback against Lincoln, but they also took care of Morningside 7-2, a team that they defeated last year.

Senior Mindy Buschbom knows this is her last year and is ready for the rest of the season.

“I want to win more games,” Buschbom said. “For me personally I want to win more singles and doubles.”

Buschbom did not play on the team last year but will be looked at as a leader for her final season. She was not eligible to play last year becaue of credit hours. Being back on the team is great for Western because she is one of the better players.

“I like everyone; we all get along,” Buschbom said. “We are all like the same person. As for the coach, he is a great coach. He’s always getting us feed back on what to do.”

Western has a favorable schedule early on. They already defeated two of the four teams they played. Next is Johnson County Community College, a team that finished 4-11 in the regular season last year before making a run for the Region 6 title, taking second. They also play Emporia State, who finished 6th in the conference last season, and Baker University.

The schedule gets tougher in the middle of the year, as Western has to travel to Iowa to play Graceland University, go to Maryville to play last years regular season conference champions Northwest and also go to Topeka to play the defending conference tournament champions Washburn University.

“Playing the conference as a whole, it’s tough; there are some good teams so good competition,” Selkirk said.

Western has four freshman who were not part of last years dismal season. This includes Erin Ward, Sophia Robertson, Katherine Guinn and Katie Field. Continuing down the roster, Western has the only sophomore on the team, Nicole Kerr and junior Alecia Jenkins. Western has two seniors, the aforementioned Buschbom and Sarah Hatten, a public relations major who transferred to the team after attending the University of Oregon.

Last season, Selkirk talked great about how well Hatten played during her single’s matches. If she can continue donig that this season, she will help Western get more wins.

According to the MIAA website, the women’s tennis division did not have one team finish in the regional rankings last year. However, Selkirk thinks there is great competition for his team this year.

“We beat Lincoln so we’re already 1-0,” Selkirk said. “That is a good thing; getting the monkey off our back because we finally won a conference game.”

Look for Western to rebound from a poor 2010 season and gain great experience from a young team in 2011. With leadership from Buschbom and Hatten as well as quailty play from the two, Western is capable of upsetting some teams along the way and if they can do that the 2011 season will be much more enduring and easier to manage than the year before.

“I think that you have to forget that they are as good as they are and just go out there and pretend that they are just another team,” Amber Adams said.

But Northwest was sure to remind the Griffons of who they were in the first match. Kayla Daughtrey was beaten by Sureena Weir 6-0, 6-0. That pace continued for the Griffons the entire day and it seemed that Northwest was not going to take them lightly. Senior Dominique Leone was not able to break through Northwest’s Lisa Pendrak as she also went down 6-0, 6-0.

Senior Dominique Leone returns a serve during a Griffon tennis match. Photo | Sara Baum

The rest of the Griffon team struggled as well. Nicole Kerr lost to Veronica Castilla 6-1, 6-0 and Alecia Jenkins lost to Brittany Browning 6-0, 6-1. Sarah Hatten was the last of the singles as she went down 6-1, 6-0.

“Sarah has come out and is close to a winning record in conference, so I have been impressed with her,” coach Ron Selkirk said.

The Griffons did not fare much better in doubles action, as seniors Amber Adams and Dominique Leone went down to Pendrak and Castilla 8-2. Daughtrey and Kerr lost to Weideman and Hoffman 8-1 and Hatten and Jenkins lost 8-0 to Weir and Browning.

However, not all has been bad for the Griffons this year as they seem to have grown closer as a team.

“We have grown a lot as a team,” Adams said. “Yeah, we may not have won many games on the court, but we’ve developed great relationships off the court.”

The Griffons fell to 1-13 and 0-7 in the conference and Northwest improved to 15-6 and 7-0 in the MIAA.