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2005-06 Blue Hose Women's Tennis Prospectus After capturing the South Atlantic Conference Regular Season and Food Lion Tournament titles in 2005 and qualifying for the NCAA Championships for the 11th consecutive year, the 2006 Lady Blue Hose have a new look. Gone from last year’s conference championship team are three players who made great contributions during their careers. Taylor Lynch, Elise Netzler, and Amanda Floyd completed their eligibility and attained undergraduate degrees in May of 2005. Their presence on and off the court will certainly be missed. During their four-year career, this trio compiled a 64-19 overall record, an 18-3 mark in the SAC regular season, won a share of three SAC regular season titles (2002, ’03, ’05), and a pair of SAC Tournament titles (2002 & ’05). A strong core returns in junior Catherine Bankhead (#1 singles), junior Lauren Brown (#2 singles, #2 doubles w/ sophomore Kari Fuller), sophomore Brittany Lanford (#5 singles, #3 doubles w/ junior Lisa Moyer), and Moyer (#6 singles, #3 doubles w/Lanford). Sophomore Kari Fuller should step into the #6 singles position on a regular basis during the season. Freshman Abby Diminich (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) should fill an important position at #3 singles and could possibly anchor the #1 doubles position with Bankhead. Improving play from sophomores Kathryn Kleckley, Cassie Martin, Brooke Toluba, and freshman Casey Bookout (Columbia, S.C.) could give them an opportunity to contribute throughout the season. The schedule is a bit lighter this season in terms of travel; however, the quality of the competition is strong. Three of the team’s first six matches are against NCAA I opponents and the team’s seventh match of the year has them at home against perennial national power Rollins College, currently ranked No. 7 nationally among NCAA II institutions. The following week, the No. 25 nationally ranked Lady Blue Hose travel to No. 11 nationally ranked USC-Upstate. Highlights of the remaining schedule see the team at home against No. 29 SAC foe Tusculum on April 2nd and No. 26 ranked Erskine College on April 4th. As always, the three main goals remain the same: win the SAC regular season, win the SAC tournament title, and qualify for the NCAA championships. |