2nd Annual Oberlin Invitational

This past weekend marked the first official competition for the 09-10 season for our team. We hosted the 2nd OC Invite on campus and for our 3 freshmen (pictured below) as well as for sophomore Brie White-Dzuro it marked the first time they competed at the collegiate level and wore the Oberlin uniform. The format for the event was a bit non-traditional without the customary "draws" we're all used to. Instead, players were paired up according to ability and everyone was guaranteed 3 matches in singles and 3 in doubles. In short, the main point to the event was to get match experience in and not really to try and declare a winner.

Our team had some mixed results which was to be expected considering that our roster is 1/3 freshmen and 2/3 sophomores this year and we'd only had about 7-8 practices before the event... There were definitely some bright spots, most noticeably our ability to force 3rd sets after dropping the first (we had that happen several times over the weekend and I consider this a very positive sign for a team's mental toughness). Our doubles also looked good and although we're still trying to get used to new partners and formations, we're showing signs of great potential down the road.

Coming up, we'll all enjoy the weekend off and recharge the batteries for the following weekend when we travel to Greencastle, IN for the ITA Regional Tournament.

Below, our 3 freshmen Liz Saltzman, Preeya Shah, and Julie Christensen in action during their first collegiate event: