For women’s tennis, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association tournament provided the Trojans spark for the spring season.
The ITA is an annual fall tournament which features many of the top NAIA tennis players, each individual hoping to punch a spot to the National ITA Cup which takes place in mid-October.
Junior Maddy Fuqua led the way for the Trojans, finishing first in the consolation bracket. As her second time in the tournament, Fuqua said she went into it more prepared than last year.
“I felt like I have a season under my belt, and I was like, okay, I should be confident in my abilities and how I play and not be nervous or anxious about anything,” Fuqua said, “Just go into it and do the gift that God has given me.”
This year, Fuqua made it the furthest among her teammates, winning the singles consolation bracket. She dropped her first match to Spring Arbor's Dayra Novella, losing 2-1 while taking her opponent to tiebreakers in both sets she dropped. However, she bounced back to win four straight matches en route to the winner of the consolation bracket.
Fuqua’s tough mental game was key to her deep run.
“I think a lot of tennis is mental, and it is important to have the mental confidence that I can do this and being confident in my play is something that has definitely changed from last year,” Fuqua said.
Although singles focuses on individual performance, Fuqua’s success provided motivation for the team to focus on as they prepare for a short break during the winter.
Coach Grubbs said he hopes players like Fuqua can use their ITA performances to prepare for the spring season.
“Her performance is a really good stepping stone for her for the future,” Grubbs said, “Every match, she had to play the toughest player on each team, and so I think that’s just going to give her confidence heading into the spring.”
Grubbs and assistant coach Olivia Reed lead the team and teach the girls life lessons along the way.
“If it’s a win, we’re going to celebrate all the more, but if it is a loss, my coach tells me you live and you learn,” Fuqua said. “You do not lose and be defeated and crushed. ”
With a young roster this year, Grubbs is seeking to help his team be ready for whatever challenge comes their way. Grubbs said the team was more prepared at ITAs than last year. A big key to this was playing last year in the same tournament. This helped second year players show the freshman what to expect.
Grubbs is looking to set the standard for the five freshmen and build a unique culture for Taylor tennis unlike other programs.
“Our girls do a great job of supporting each other,” Grubbs said. “It is really hard to support another girl on the team when you’re playing, but as soon as the girls are done, they are usually running over to another court and watching and cheering on other teammates."
This not only builds culture within the team but also is a whole boost for the player in the middle of playing a match. Fuqua said having teammates around to support boosts confidence and makes their skill level go up. It gives the team belief that they can get to the next level in the NAIA and their conference
In a tough conference, Grubbs sees each match as a learning opportunity, no matter the result and looks to the bright future of the program.
“We’re in year two, so we are still building,” Grubbs said. ”Seeing how good those teams are shows us how much work we still have to do to get to the next level.” The team opens their spring season on Feb. 22, where they will face off against University of Indianapolis.
