The University of Memphis women’s tennis team will play host this weekend to eight other schools during the Memphis Invitational, which will be held at the tennis courts just outside the Student Recreation and Fitness Center.
This year’s tourney, which begins Friday, marks the 25th consecutive year The U of M has hosted the event, according to 27-year head coach Charlotte Peterson.
Peterson said she expects the Tigers to fare well in the tournament, which also features Ball State, St. Louis, Southern Miss, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Evansville, Tennessee Tech and Murray State.
“The girls have been playing better than ever this fall,” Peterson said. “They’re all consistent and they play with lots of energy and they support each other very much.”
Peterson said juniors Monica Gonzalez-Gordo and Sabrina Lindeman both played well during the Middle Tennessee State Invitational last week and anticipates both having a good tournament this weekend.
The two are Peterson’s best singles competitors this season. They also pair up for doubles competition.
Gonzalez-Gordo, a transfer athlete, is playing in her first season at Memphis after spending her first two years at Baylor. She and Lindeman advanced to the championship match of the MTSU Invitational last week in doubles competition before losing to Alabama-Birmingham.
“I wasn’t playing at Baylor,” she said. “Coach (Peterson) and the coach there talked, and I ended up here.”
The Barcelona native said she likes her fit with the team and is excited to be a part of it.
“I’m playing good and I’m playing comfortably,” Gonzalez-Gordo said. “I’m getting a chance to play and I like the team.”
Due to injury, Lindeman didn’t compete in the Tigers’ season-opening tournament, but she made the MTSU Invitational singles semi-finals last week as well as the doubles final. She said she’s ready to play this weekend, especially since The U of M’s courts are hard as opposed to clay.
“The game is faster on a hard court,” Lindeman said. “You can use the surface more on your serve and you can be more aggressive and go to the net.”
Since the C-USA Tournament won’t begin until the spring, Peterson said she is using the time to play all of her players and prepare for the fall.
“Everybody gets to play now and they get more time,” Peterson said. “We won’t keep up with a team win-loss record until January.”
