Jonathan Jacobskind / Contributing Writer
sports@fiusm.com
Despite a shaky start to the 2012 season with losses to ranked opponents, head coach Melissa Applebaum-Dall’au and the rest of the tennis squad (1-7) look to salvage the season this weekend as they begin conference play in Denton, Texas.
FIU will be taking on the South Alabama Jaguars on Feb. 25, nearly a month after FIU earned their first victory of the year against Fresno State. Then they will face the host, North Texas on Feb. 26. The Mean Green are ranked 61st in the nation, ahead of the Panthers who are currently ranked 74th.
FIU defeated North Texas last season 4-3 in the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinals.
The Panthers, last year’s Sun Belt Champs, are winners of the previous five of seven conference titles.
A tough task lies ahead as Applebaum-Dall’au is focusing to maintain high intensity during her practices, especially as the conference schedule begins for her club.
“Our schedule has been very tough, so I do it for a reason,” coach Applebaum-Dallau said. “We just got to get through it. Our practices are very good, very solid and we’ll definitely have a breakthrough any moment.”
Led by senior Lisa Johnson, the driving force that keeps the team running strong is that prize at the end of the road: a sixth Conference Championship.
“Our main goal is definitely to get back where we finished last season,” Lisa said. “Even though we got off to a rough start our goal is to finish better than we started.”
Beating the 4-2 South Alabama Jaguars would be the Panthers’ first victory against a team in the Sun Belt Conference, and a victory over the 6-4 Mean Green of North Texas would result in a win over their highest ranked opponent of the 2012 season.
“Our team is one of the strongest, if not the strongest in the Sun Belt. I think it’s a matter of the need to compete and focus. As a whole…I believe every match is ours as long as we go in with the right attitude,” Applebaum-Dallau said.
SEREDNI PROBABLE
Senior Christine Seredni has not traveled with the team in the month of February. Seredni has missed the last five matches due to strategic reasons. She will make her first appearance since Jan. 28 against Georgia. The Panthers are 0-5 without Seredni on the court.
According to Johnson, if the Panthers return home from Denton 2-0 it may do wonders for the team’s morals and may boost their confidence.
“It will do a lot of good. I just think our team is just having a hard time with the losing streak so it will just take one solid win to get back on track,” Johnson said.
After the weekend’s matches, FIU will not have to travel outside of the state of Florida for the remainder of the season. The team will face eight out of their next nine opponents at home – Florida Atlantic (in Boca Raton), their lone road foe for the season.
But Applebaum-Dallau wants to focus solely on their next opponent.
“Stay in the moment, enjoy it, do not worry about the future,” Applebaum-Dallau said.
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