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Outlook strong for women's 2002-03
tennis season
By Joseph Brettell
The
Golden Eagle women's tennis team has established itself as a powerhouse
in the Mid-Continent Conference, winning the last five conference
championships. They return with several experienced members from
last year's squad, all of whom saw action in the starting rotation
last year and the fall season.
Coach Linda Breckenridge will again lead the Golden Eagle women.
Breckenridge, a 1997 graduate of the University of Oklahoma, has
been voted coach of the year an impressive three times while garnering
five straight Mid-Continent Conference championships.
Assisting Breckenridge this year will be senior Claire Waltman.
Waltman, an anchor of the women's team for the past two seasons,
shifted to coaching duties after finishing up her NCAA eligibility
this past season.
The Golden Eagle team should continue to be rock solid, led by a
group of experienced upperclassmen. Seniors Marlena Maciolek and
Barbara Urbaniak will lead the women as they look to win an impressive
sixth straight conference title. Maciolek has garnered several Mid-Con
honors in her career at ORU, and Urbaniak will be counted on for
another great performance.
Juniors Rachel Budd, Jennifer Helm, Christa Lang and Isabelle Soucy
will also be looking to take their game to the next level this year.
All four saw action last season, with Budd advancing to the semi-finals
of the Omni Hotels Invitational Tournament before withdrawing because
of an injury. All of them have at least two seasons of Division
One experience under their belt and will look to avenge their loss
in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Continuing in the tradition of excellence that has been established,
sophomore Laine Sommer looks to gain both experience and wins as
the youngest member of the Golden Eagle team. Sommer, a transfer
student in the spring semester of 2002, will show great strides
as she spends her first full year at ORU.
The Golden Eagle team is full of international flavor, with junior
Soucy and Budd from Canada, Maciolek and Urbaniak from Poland, and
junior Lang and Sommer from Australia. The women's tennis team has
truly been assembled from throughout the world to continue the legacy
of winning for a sixth year.
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