Successfully contributing to an athletic team requires more than simply showing up to practice and performing well in competition.
"Every year, any team, any sport, has to do so much more than play that sport," Virginia women's tennis coach Mark Guilbeau said.
This notion, however, can be hard to grasp for someone coming straight out of high school, which is why freshmen Riley Blanks, Maria Fuccillo, Hana Tomljanovic, and Erin Vierra have been working to live up to the collegiate level of athleticism that will redefine how they play the game. The addition of four new members to the Virginia women's tennis team has helped create a positive team dynamic, but it is a dynamic that has required constant effort and preparation.
"All four [freshmen] work really, really, hard," sophomore Emily Fraser said. "They want to be really good for the team. One of the hardest things about coming into college tennis is that in junior tennis, it's all very much an individual sport ... In college it is sort of hard to understand the whole dynamic of playing for the team rather than yourself."
In light of this challenge, the Cavaliers have endeavored to implement a strategy of working collectively at all times. At the beginning of the season, senior Jennifer Stevens and Tomljanovic took home the Flight A doubles title from the William and Mary Invitational. In September, sophomore Lindsey Hardenbergh and junior Neela Vaez both took home singles titles from the UVa Invitational, at which duo Tomljanovic and Stevens and duo Hardenbergh and Vierra also won doubles accolades. More recently, the team competed at the ITA Atlantic Regional this past weekend, where Vierra made it to the singles final.
Another factor that contributes to maintaining a successful team is to ensure that coaching goes beyond the coach-to-player level. Player-to-player coaching drives players to better themselves for the sake of their teammates.
"It's critical that the teams each year understand how important and how beneficial coaching is," Guilbeau explained. "And of course that includes coaching from the staff ... as well as a group of eight to 10 players who are experiencing it on the court. There may be nothing more valuable than the team sharing with themselves their thoughts."
The team's success will continue to grow as long as the Cavaliers continue to focus on the details that help hold together a strong team's foundation.
"This team needs to have a great understanding of the importance of little details: good habits, team bonding, listening, communicating well, having fun, working hard and enjoying that part of it," Guilbeau said. "This team seems to have a real good understanding of all of that and at the same time they're still growing"
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