Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Women's Tennis Picked To Finish Fifth
02/10/2003 | 12:00:00 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 10, 2003
Carbondale, Ill. - The women's tennis team was picked to finish fifth this season by the 2003 Missouri Valley Conference coaches' poll. Head coach Judy Auld believes that both the new and experienced players on her Saluki squad prompted the votes by opposing coaches.
"Bringing in some young, new players is going to help us compete this year," said Jeffrey. "In this conference it's all about staying healthy. I believe that if we keep our players healthy we can finish in the upper half. Our goal has to be to finish better than fifth."
After finishing in tenth place last season due to an injury plagued squad, the Salukis hope to improve this season by using their youth. Six out of the nine players on the women's tennis team are in their first season of collegiate tennis action. The youngest team in school history hopes to once again make the Salukis a top contender for the MVC title.
Illinois State and Southwest Missouri State were selected as the top choice by MVC coaches to win the regular season race, followed by Drake and Indiana State.
1. Illinois State (8) 77
SW Missouri State (1) 77
3. Drake 61
4. Indiana State 60
5. Southern Illinois 49
6. Wichita State 38
7. Creighton 31
8. Evansville 29
9. Bradley 14
Northern Iowa 14
NOTE: First -place points in parentheses.
Points determined by 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 and coaches could not vote for their own team.
