Hsu and crew head to tourney

The women’s tennis team has not had a winning season since 2007-08, but a strong freshman class may pull the Quakers out of their slump.

The Red and Blue have been powering through their preseason matches to hone their skills for conference play. This weekend, they will be tested once again at the Cissie Leary Invitational, held at Penn.

Though the season has not yet kicked into full gear, the incoming class comprised of Lauren Bridges, Stephanie Do, Jaime Yapp-Shing, and No. 4-ranked incoming freshman Connie Hsu has already demonstrated its talent.

“I think we have two backbones,” coach Sanela Kunovac said. “The incoming freshmen who have brought a lot already to the table and then the upperclassmen who serve as their guidance and benchmark”

Yapp-Shing teamed up with senior Alexa Ely last weekend at the Columbia Invitational where they won the doubles championship. Not to be outdone, Hsu won the singles flight at the William and Mary Invitational two weeks ago.

Hsu’s performance, in what was her first collegiate competition, earned her the No. 4 spot in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s ranking of incoming freshman.

“She’s still young, but she’s definitely somebody we’re looking to build the team around,” Kunovac said.

For a team that has been struggling its past few seasons, talented players like Hsu and her classmates could prove especially helpful as the team struggled with a limited working roster last year.

While they will make contributions to the team this season, the freshmen also have a lot of time to develop as players in their college tennis careers.

Though Hsu is humble about her accomplishments, she is confident in her abilities as well as the abilities of her teammates.

“All of the freshmen are really good too,” she said, “and I’m sure this year we’ll play a lot better.”

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