Outhwaite advances to finals of ITA Regional Tournament |
| Posted by Administrator on Oct 01 2008 |
Photo by Callie Erickson
Sophomore Katie-Mary Outhwaite of Kojonup, Australia serves the ball in her final singles match at the ITA Regional Tournament. Outhwaite's serve and volley game were the reason she advanced to the tournament finals.
By Callie Erickson
Antelope Staff
The UNK Women's Tennis Team gained experience and motivation for the spring season playing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional Tournament over the weekend in Kearney. Though they didn't bring home first place trophies, one Loper did make it to the finals.
UNK's "Aussie," sophomore Katie-Mary Outhwaite of Kojonup, Australia, made it to the final round of singles play on Sunday. After breezing through her semi-final match earlier in the day against conference rival Mesa State (6-0, 6-2), she fell just short of the title, losing (2-6, 5-7) to Minnesota State Mankato's Marina Bugaenco.
"I didn't feel as comfortable on the court my last match as I had all my matches previous to the finals. My footwork felt off, but the crowd and my teammates and having the professionalism feel that match did with the umpires made it so exciting to play," Outhwaite said.
If Outhwaite had won her final match she would have advanced to the national tournament in Alabama Oct. 16-19.
"I have never played a match that meant so much to me," Outhwaite said.
If she had continued on to the national tournament in Alabama, her mother would have flown over from Australia to watch her daughter play.
"It has been quite some time since my family has been able to see me play, so more than anything I wanted to take control of that final singles match."
Outhwaite definitely put up a great fight and made her opponent fight for rights to the title. Almost every time Outhwaite served and volleyed she would win the point.
"The two battled it out until the very end," assistant coach Kelli Holl said. "Mary was right there with Bugaenco, and if she had a few more closed points here or there the match score easily could have been switched," said Holl.
As the Lopers continue to prepare for the spring season, each team member has something they took from this tournament to focus on during the off-season. For Outhwaite that something is taking advantage of opportunities given to her and finishing off points.
"Mary should definitely not be disappointed with the way she played. She came out and was aggressive, playing with determination to defeat her opponent," Holl said.
Outhwaite said having her teammates and coaches present helped her play some great tennis.
"I loved hearing everyone there cheering for me and pumping me up throughout the match. Our assistant coach kept me with a new plan of attack each time we switched sides, which helped me so much, especially when I would drop a game. I just had a game plan to focus on instead of a past mistake I had made," Outhwaite said.
Due to the fact that this tournament was held in Kearney, Head Coach Kent Shultz was unable to do much coaching because he was busy running the tournament.
"Chad and Coach Holl stepped in and really motivated and pushed us to play some good tennis," Outhwaite said.
The lady Lopers now turn their focus to preparing for the spring season. With a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference title to protect, you can be sure the women will be giving it their all each day on and off the court.
UNK men gear up for their coming ITA tournament this weekend, Oct. 3-5, starting with a warm-up match against Mesa State on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Regional play begins Friday morning at 8:00 a.m. in Kearney at the Harmon Park tennis courts.
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