KNOXVILLE, Tn- The Royals women's tennis program have officially wrapped up their fall season and now will eagerly await the start of the spring season on February 9th. The fall was highlighted by a 7-2 win over Franklin College and an individual milestone for Junior Paola Testa.
The Royals competed in 5 team matches throughout the fall playing a range of NCAA and NAIA opponents. As a team, the Royals were able to see their team effort come together against Franklin College when the Royals fought back on two different doubles courts to sweep the doubles points and secure 4 singles victories to put away the Grizzlies.
Throughout the fall, the Royals were highlighted on the doubles court by the combo of senior Lauren Murray and Freshman Bella Stigall who were able to be on the winning side of 2 of their 4 contests. On the singles court, the Royals were led by Junior Paola Testa who scored victories in 3 of her 5 matches with a couple of very tight losses.
In the final match of the fall, Testa made Royals history as she became the first Royals player on either team to earn 50 wins. Competing primarily at the number one positions, Testa has logged 29 singles victories and 21 doubles victories. Coach Hale had this to say, "I couldn't be more proud of Paola and all of the hard work she's put in. She is one of the best competitors I've gotten to coach, approaching match after match with intensity and is constantly trying to figure out how to break down her opponents. She's had a great fall and even with this mile-stone, she is just now playing her best tennis, so the spring will be a lot of fun."
Regarding the season, Coach Hale had the following comments about the fall period for the women's team, "We played a tough schedule to prepare us for the spring and we competed really well. We fought hard and continued to play our game even against the toughest competition which was our goal. I think we really can build on this fall once AAC season gets here in the spring!"
The Royals kick off the spring season at home on the 9th with nationally ranked Tennessee Wesleyan. This will be a rematch of last season's tournament matchup which capped off the Women's team's first ever birth into the AAC tournament.