The Cougars are back to their winning ways after a pair of 7-0 victories last weekend against Prairie View A&M and St. Edwards and look to keep the streak alive Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe at John E. Hoff Tennis Courts.
While head coach John Severance gave praise to all players on the team, he noted the importance of setting the tone early with top players picking up victories in their respective matches.
“For the most part, our whole team has been playing well,” Severance said. “I give a lot of credit to our top three players Bryony Hunter, Laura Ring and (Joanna) Kacprzyk. It’s very important for them to set the tone of the match.
“Having said that, I expect four, five and six to do well all the time.”
Severance also attributed their success in part to the fact that they are playing at home for the first time in almost a month.
“Our team is very comfortable at home,” Severance said. “We know the courts, we know the bounce and just the familiarity of playing at home is definitely an advantage.”
With last weekend’s victories, UH improved to 10-6. Severance, however, still sees room for improvement. Although the Cougars have won doubles points in each of their previous two matches, he said that doubles play is one of his biggest concerns.
“I thought we performed very well in singles in the last two matches,” Severance said, “but we are still not where we need to be in doubles play.”
This aspect of the game will be crucial for UH to beat Louisiana-Monroe this weekend. Severance said that the team has been working to improve their doubles play this week so they can be in top form for Saturday’s match.
“ULM is a team that is very tough,” Severance said. “They’ve beaten a few teams that we have beaten already this year. Our key to success will definitely have to be the doubles aspect of it.
“It’s not the end of the world if we lose the doubles point; however, I think it will set the tone for the match if we can pull it off. We are going to try to emphasize doubles because our singles play is in good shape right now.”
The matchup is one of three remaining in the Cougars’ regular season before the Conference USA tournament begins April 22 in Tulsa, Okla.
