The Crimson White Print Edition - September 21, 2023
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6A<br />
sports<br />
Alabama women’s tennis eager ahead of <strong>2023</strong>-24 season<br />
Members of the Alabama women’s tennis team huddle up before a match. Courtesy of UA Athletics<br />
Conner Davis<br />
Contributing Writer<br />
A s the <strong>2023</strong>-24 tennis<br />
season kicks off,<br />
there are some significant<br />
changes bringing<br />
excitement and eagerness<br />
to the players and coaches<br />
of the Alabama women’s<br />
tennis team.<br />
“It is about having<br />
the right intensity, body<br />
language and the right<br />
attitude, and that is what<br />
we are focusing on,” head<br />
coach Jonatan Berhane<br />
said.<br />
This season, the<br />
<strong>Crimson</strong> Tide will have a<br />
familiar but new coaching<br />
staff. First-year head coach<br />
Berhane will lead the team<br />
after being with the team<br />
for five seasons as he<br />
replaces Jenny Mainz, who<br />
retired at the end of last<br />
season after 26 seasons.<br />
Assistant coach Alba<br />
Cortina Pou is also making<br />
her coaching debut after<br />
playing for the <strong>Crimson</strong><br />
Tide from 2017 to 20<strong>21</strong>.<br />
“For me the transition<br />
felt pretty organic because<br />
I’ve been here for five<br />
years as a coach, so I'm<br />
used to sports oversight,<br />
all of the administration<br />
and everyone we work<br />
with on a daily basis,”<br />
Berhane said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> team is returning<br />
seven of the 10 players on<br />
the team and adding one<br />
freshman and a transfer<br />
from Charlotte. New<br />
freshman Priya Nelson<br />
comes in as the No. 1<br />
recruit out of California<br />
and one of the top five<br />
nationally. Transfer<br />
graduate student Margaux<br />
Maquet is making the<br />
transition from the<br />
Conference USA to<br />
the SEC.<br />
Maquet is embarking<br />
on a new journey by<br />
joining the <strong>Crimson</strong> Tide<br />
this year, coming from a<br />
Group of Five to a Power<br />
Five program and starting<br />
a new team. During the<br />
2022-23 season she had an<br />
overall singles record of<br />
23-10 with a doubles team<br />
record of 27-10.<br />
“[Alabama has a] good<br />
program, facilities are<br />
great, nice girls and good<br />
coaches. I’m excited to<br />
see how the season goes,”<br />
Maquet said. “Everything<br />
is made for the athlete.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are so many people<br />
around us to take care of<br />
everything.”<br />
Returning senior Anne<br />
Marie Hiser was a five-<br />
star recruit coming out<br />
of high school and has<br />
stayed with the <strong>Crimson</strong><br />
Tide ever since. During<br />
the 2022-23 season, Hiser<br />
had an overall singles<br />
record of 11-4, going 6-3 in<br />
conference play and had<br />
an overall doubles team<br />
record of 10-10. When<br />
talking about the team<br />
chemistry this season,<br />
Hiser had a lot of good<br />
things to say about<br />
the team.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> team chemistry is<br />
awesome,” Hiser said. “We<br />
are really close; we do a lot<br />
of things together outside<br />
of the court and that’s<br />
really showing on the<br />
court. I’m really looking<br />
forward to the girls and<br />
team aspect, playing<br />
together and playing for<br />
Bama and having fun.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> 2022-23 team did<br />
not have a great year.<br />
It had an overall record<br />
of 12-12, going 5-8 in<br />
conference play and<br />
losing at Auburn 3-4. <strong>The</strong>y<br />
seemed to play better at<br />
home with a home record<br />
of 7-3. This year’s team is<br />
excited to play Auburn as<br />
the match will be held in<br />
Tuscaloosa on Alabama’s<br />
senior night.<br />
“I am looking forward<br />
to the Auburn match<br />
because it’s senior night<br />
and it is a Friday night,<br />
so we are looking forward<br />
to having all the fans out<br />
supporting us,” Hiser said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> team will start<br />
off its season at the<br />
Debbie Southern Furman<br />
Classic, which is the first<br />
tournament of the fall.<br />
This tournament will be<br />
a good start for the team<br />
as they will get to see how<br />
they play together and<br />
where they can improve<br />
going forward during<br />
the season.<br />
“I am excited to see<br />
where the girls are, and<br />
it is going to be a good<br />
test because there will be<br />
basically be top 25 teams<br />
with Georgia, Georgia Tech,<br />
Miami, Duke and UNC —<br />
all the best teams in the<br />
country. I feel like this is a<br />
great opportunity for our<br />
girls,” Berhane said.<br />
<strong>The</strong> team has been<br />
working hard, putting<br />
in time and effort to get<br />
better, and now, with the<br />
season starting, they will<br />
have the chance to prove<br />
to everyone how hard they<br />
have been working.<br />
“Our team’s phrase for<br />
this year is ‘maximum<br />
effort.’ Everything we do,<br />
we do to the best of our<br />
ability. It’s about working<br />
hard putting in the time<br />
and effort,” Berhane said.<br />
FAST FACTS:<br />
7/10<br />
2022-<strong>2023</strong> team had<br />
7-3<br />
an overall record of<br />
players are returning<br />
to the team this year.<br />
12-12<br />
was the home<br />
record of the<br />
2022-<strong>2023</strong> team.<br />
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Jeans, & Hats<br />
at <strong>The</strong> Wharf<br />
in Northport<br />
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