If there is a theme for this season for The University of Memphis women's tennis team, depth would cover it.
With the Tigers' fall opener set for this weekend at UT-Chattanooga, how deep The U of M will actually be this season will depend on the play of two new freshman players, Ekin Zafir and Flavia Russo.
"We have two new girls this season that will give us depth at the end of the line and make us a good team," said Charlotte Peterson, University of Memphis's head tennis coach.
Failure to recruit a solid number one singles player this year after losing last year's number one starter, Marlene Dirnstorfer, will leave The U of M hoping that depth in the lower positions will carry the Tigers through close matches.
"Our goal this season was to recruit a number one, and it just didn't happen," Peterson said. "I feel good with the depth of the team coming in though."
The new additions this season are expected to add depth to a Tiger team that struggled last season, winning only six of 14 matches largely due to poor doubles play.
"We really were not too successful in doubles last season," Peterson said. "I really hope to improve on that this year."
The Tigers will implement a new I-formation set in doubles this season in hopes to improve on last season's performance.
"The new I-formation will keep two players more in the center of the court instead of having just one player in close to the net," said senior Andrea Feichtinger. "It is going to be tough up top but the two new players will add strength to our line up."
The Tigers will need a solid performance this season with the addition of new solid Conference USA opponents despite the loss of Cincinnati, Louisville, Saint Louis, Charlotte, South Florida and Texas Christian University.
"Our conference is going to be very strong," Peterson said. "Rice, Marshall, SMU and UCF are all strong programs. I really think we will see five new schools towards the top."
The U of M will get a chance to prepare for conference play this season and see where the team stacks up position-wise with their season opener tournament at UT-Chattanooga.
"We have not set the single or double positions yet, and it is hard to say because of the strength in different positions," Peterson said. "It will be a good kick off tournament."
Seeing where the Tigers stack up is something senior Christina Noble is looking forward to.
"The first tournament is always to see where we stack up," Nobel said. "After the first tournament, we really get to see what we need to work on and it gives us direction."
The U of M will also play in Tuscaloosa Oct. 7 at the University of Alabama before returning home to host the Memphis Invitational tournament Oct. 21.
"I think the girls are looking forward to playing somewhere new like Alabama," Peterson said. "We do always look forward to hosting our own tournament though."
