Sept. 6, 2007

By ROB ROOS
sports@sooeveningnews.com
SAULT STE. MARIE - The Lake Superior State women's tennis team will have a new look this season, featuring a lineup with an international flair.

Lake State is coming off back-to-back trips to the NCAA-II Tournament, but only two players with collegiate experience return. The Lakers open the season with a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches this weekend. LSSU entertains Ashland, Ohio, at 2 p.m. Friday and also plays host to Mercyhurst at 11 a.m. Saturday.

LSSU is coming off a stellar 15-8 campaign, but Megan LaMothe and Weronika Lomacka are the only returnees with college tennis experience. LaMothe played No. 2 and Lomacka was No. 3 singles last year, and both will likely move up one spot to lead a young team. Lamothe is a senior from Troy, Mich., while Lomacka is a junior from Warsaw, Poland. The rest of the Laker lineup includes two sophomores and four freshmen, which are all part of a team that includes players from five different countries.

Lomacka

Charlie Drury begins his third years as Lakers' head coach, and former Laker tennis player Megan Smith is now a student assistant coach. Drury is optimstic that the Lakers' young team will get better week by week and has the potential to finish in the upper half of the GLIAC standings.

"Talent-wise, we we're not as strong right now as we were at the end of last season," Drury said. "We don't have the playing experience, so it will take some time for everything to gell.

"But the work ethic is here, and this team has the potential to get better because they are willing to put the time into it," Drury said. "I really enjoy coaching this group. They have a lot of enthusiasm for the game."

Newcomers include freshman Ingrid Pflieger of Grossaitingen, Germany, freshman Gaby Juan-Alladio of Montreal, sophomore Kim Gardner of Gladstone, and freshman Anais Molina of Pueblo Libre, Lima, Peru. Rounding out the team are freshmen Molly Magoon of Fremont, and Allison Nowicki of Essexville.

"Fortunately they all speak English very well, so we don't have any communication problems," Drury said. "This is a close-knit team. They all get along very well. Hopefully we can continue to build on that and find chemistry with the right doubles combinations. The key for us in the early matches will be to keep the unforced errors to a minimum, and just to play within our abilities.

"There is an optimistic feeling about all Laker sports right now," Drury said. "I've seen more interest from the student body, and the community in general. Anyone who wants to see some high-quality tennis should come out and watch this weekend."

Heading into Friday's opener, the Lakers were still waiting for Pflieger to be officially cleared to play by the NCAA. She attended junior college in Plano, Texas, last year, and was recommended to Drury by a one of the team's coaches.

"She (Pflieger) really hits with good pace, and with a lot of topspin," Drury said. "She'll be a big addition to the team."

Gardner, a 2005 Gladstone High School graduate, is the only Upper Peninsula player on the Laker women's roster. On the men's roster, U.P. players include sophomores Dan Stam of Ishpeming and Kyle Waisanen of Sault Ste. Marie, and freshmen Jack Miller and Eddie Langford of Marquette. Gardner practiced with the team last year but did not play. She will play No. 5 singles this weekend, and join Molina at No. 3 doubles.

"My goals are to get better, and to have fun," Gardner said. "It's exciting, and I'm a little nervous about my first college match. My schedule is so busy right now though. I've been practicing tennis two hours a day, plus workouts, working at the hospital and taking 19 credits. I don't have time to think about it (first match) too much, which is good."