COURTESY OF NSU ATHLETICS
Tennis team prepares for a match during the 2023-2024 season.
Coming off a historic NCAA Division II National Championship win in the 2023-2024 season, NSU’s women’s tennis team is starting the 2024-2025 season strong.
The Sharks had a successful first tournament on Sept. 13-15 at the PBA Invitational, where they faced off against St. Thomas University, Palm Beach Atlantic University and Hillsborough Community College.
“We had some tough matches, but we came through in all of them, so it was great to see the girls competing,” said Freya Davies, graduate assistant coach and member of the national championship-winning team. “It gave us things to work on and it was good, especially for the newcomers, to get that experience and see the level we compete at.”
Davies’ appointment as an assistant coach has the potential to be a game-changer for the team this season. During her one year as a player for the team, she was a part of the top double tandem in the nation, having won the ITA Doubles Cup in October 2023. She also went 4-1 in the NCAA Tournament and won a point for the team in the National Championship match.
“I was literally just in their shoes so I can really resonate with them and what they’re feeling and going through,” Davies said. “I’m able to provide good advice based on what me and last year’s team did last season that led us to winning a national championship, so hopefully I can pass all of that onto the current team.”
Outside of Davies, returning to the court this season are three key players from last year’s championship team. Their experience will be valuable in helping the team maintain their high level of play.
“Our three returners are really helping this team by showing the level that we play at and showing just how hard it is to do what we did last year,” said Douge Neagle, head women’s tennis coach. “It’s good for the rest of the team to have this example,”
Fresh off its championship win, this year’s team feels a renewed sense of pressure and confidence as they prepare for the upcoming season.
“Even though we don’t have the same team as last year, we feel that we have more pressure now since we just won the title, but we also have more confidence than we did last year because we just won the title,” said Ita Habekovic, returning member of the women’s tennis team and senior psychology major.
Recognizing the significance of team chemistry in their championship win last season, the program has now made it a priority.
“I think one of the big reasons why we did what we did last year was because of the team chemistry and how they all worked together,” Neagle said. “They were a very special group.”
Although the season is still in its early stages, the team is already building positive relationships and strong chemistry.
“I feel like we’re all connecting and getting along really well,” Habekovic said. “I can see the relationships starting to form, which is good for us and also important.”
The team hopes to defend its title and have another dominant season in 2024-2025.
“One thing that helps us is keeping our goals as vague as possible,” Neagle said. “We just want to work hard to get better every day and let the results of that happen organically.”
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