KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - After cancelling fall match play, the Royals women's tennis team will make their long awaited return to the tennis courts this upcoming weekend for their home opener.
When the Royals walked off victorious last season's contest against Ferrum, little did they know that they would not take the court again for another 11 months. After graduating four seniors last season, the Royals will seek success through a balance of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen.
The team will be led by two four year seniors, Annalise Leimeister and Emily Allen as well as Junior Iris Loveday who all bring different aspects of leadership to the roster. Since joining the Royals in the fall of 2017, Leimeister has made her presence felt on the singles courts. Through grit and intensity on the court, she is currently tied for the second most singles victories in program history. Allen, a dual sport athlete, is looking to bring leadership to the tennis court after helping lead the Royals to a 3rd place national finish on the soccer field. Loveday, on the other hand, helped lock down the number one doubles spot last season and will look to bring that experience to the courts this season.
The upperclassmen will be joined by a talented young core, Sophomore Brooke Hilemon and Freshmen Lauren Murray and Katelyn Lee. Hilemon was able to find some success on the doubles court last season through her aggressive net play prior to the season being cut short. After putting in lots of work over the summer and fall, Hilemon is primed to make a big contribution in both singles and doubles. The roster will be rounded out by a couple of big hitting freshmen who look to make an immediate impact. Murray and Lee, graduates of Siegel High School and Ooltewah High School (respectively), have entered into practices and immediately had an impact.
Coach Hale's Take: "The most successful teams I have coached have had a combination of young talent and experienced leadership and I feel like this team fits that model. Annalise and Emily have been reliably solid fixtures in the lineup for the last four years. Iris and Brooke have really embraced the role of leaders on this team, speaking from experience and leading the way with hard work. Finally Lauren and Katelyn have been so much fun to coach already. Both like to be aggressive and dictate play, I really can't wait to see what they can do against some of these other schools. This season in general is going to require us to be mentally tough and flexible, but I think we have the pieces in place to make that successful!"
