2007 Season Recap
Women’s Tennis Tallies 7-12 Record, Narrowly Misses Out On PostseasonThe Malone College women’s tennis team, led by first-year head coach Dan Bernard, recently completed its 2007 season with a final record of 7-12 and a 5-4 mark in the American Mideast Conference. Although the Pioneers’ overall record was below .500, Bernard was able to guide the team to a fifth-place conference finish (among ten teams), significantly improving upon last year’s 1-4 performance in AMC matches. In fact, Malone fell just one victory shy of fourth place in the conference standings, which would have given the squad a berth in the NAIA Regional Tournament for the first time since 2003.
The Pioneers struggled with a difficult non-conference schedule at the beginning of the year as the team dropped eight of its first nine contests. However, the squad refused to give up after this tough start and salvaged its 2007 campaign by posting a 6-4 record over the final ten matches of the season.
Malone’s strong play during the second half of the year is even more impressive when factoring in an early-season injury that caused the team’s #4 singles player, junior Jackie Quilter (GlenOak H.S.), to miss the final 12 matches of the spring. The Pioneers had entered the ’07 campaign with just six athletes on their roster and after Quilter’s injury, Malone was forced to play six of its 12 remaining contests with only five players (therefore forfeiting #6 singles and #3 doubles in all six of those competitions). Junior Erin Martin (Beaver, PA) joined the team in late March and was able to fill the roster void in six of the squad’s final matches.
Sophomore Ann Marie Burton (Wadsworth H.S) and junior Cami Urdea (Brasov, Romania) each put together strong efforts throughout 2007 as the two players split time between the #1 and #2 singles positions. Burton tallied a 5-14 record in singles play while Urdea notched a 6-13 mark. The duo also competed as Malone’s #1 doubles pair and compiled a 7-12 record. Both players earned All-AMC recognition for doubles while Burton also collected All-AMC honors for her effective singles play. In addition, Urdea was named a 2007 Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athlete this season.
Senior Emily Farls (Beaver, PA) posted an 8-11 mark at the #3 singles spot while freshman April Victor (Tallmadge H.S.) tallied a 9-10 singles mark with a majority of her victories occurring after she moved up to #4 singles midway through the season. Following Quilter’s injury, Farls and Victor combined for a 6-6 record at the #2 doubles position. Farls also earned the Daktronics NAIA Scholar Athlete award for the second straight season.
Freshman Lynsey Fuller (Canton South H.S.), who began the season at #6 singles before moving to the #5 position, recorded the Pioneers’ top singles mark at 12-7. At the #3 doubles spot, Fuller partnered with Quilter at the beginning of the year and Martin at the end of the season to register a 4-9 mark.
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