Women’s tennis works hard to defend CAA championship

From the high of the 2018-19 CAA championship to the low of the 2019-20 season cut short because of COVID-19, JMU women’s tennis handles the pressure by training hard and are optimistic about the spring season.

“It’s unique that we had half of last year to learn to play with that pressure because that was something new for our team,” women’s tennis head coach Shelley Jaudon said. “We had never won, we were always the ones trying to chase and chase and now all of a sudden you become the one with a target on your back.”

The demand to do well and defend the championship title is on most of the players’ minds as they train for the spring season. Redshirt senior Jona Roka retained an extra year with the NCAA spring-sport eligibility relief, meaning the Dukes have a seasoned veteran for the upcoming season.

“It was sad that the comradery was just going to be over, that we were going home and that my season was done as a senior,” Roka said. “I’m very thankful that I got another opportunity, and hopefully moving into spring season [COVID-19] won’t stop our season and we can bring home another championship.”

The team learned to adapt and take any opportunities that arise. Redshirt sophomore Daniela Voloh competed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) fall circuit event in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the beginning of October. This allowed for Voloh to ease back into the competitive aspect of collegiate tennis.

“We don’t know what to expect as we learned from this past year and past semester so much can change,” Voloh said. “But I’m excited to have the opportunity to compete again.”

Redshirt sophomore player Kylie Moulin transferred to JMU from Alabama and saw an opportunity in a Dukes team that looked to defend their championship title. She described the transition to JMU easy and immediately fell in love with the school. The turn of events in the past months made playing tennis with a new team soon became more difficult. Moulin still remains optimistic about her next season as a Duke.

“I think that as a team we put in a lot of hard work this fall under difficult circumstances,” Moulin said. “We were very determined and so I expect great things to come based on the hard work we’ve been putting in.”

The team actively follows COVID-19 guidelines and training has continued somewhat normally. This allows the team to be optimistic for the season ahead, no matter how tumultuous it could get.

“We were able to have a full fall of training and everyone stayed healthy which is a huge testament to the buy-in that our girls have to the program to doing things right and to making good decisions,” Jaudon said.

Despite the pressure of defending their championship title, optimism for a spring season is the driving factor for the team.

“Win or lose, I just want to go out and play with my teammates,” Voloh said. “Because that's what we came to do.”