Rutgers Opens Season at Princeton Invite
Sep 14 | Women's Tennis
PISCATAWAY, N.J. - The Rutgers women's tennis team will kick off the 2006-07 season at the Princeton Invitational Friday, Sept. 15. The tournament will last three days, with action wrapping up on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Head coach Ben Bucca is heading into his fourth season at the helm of the program and is looking for the team to use the fall as preparation for the Scarlet Knights' championship season in the spring.
"The fall season is a time where we're able to work on skills and stroke production, while at the same time putting the team in some form of competition," he said. "We'll work on improving our overall shot-making and our fitness, while getting some match play at the same time."
The scarlet Knights return five players from last year's squad in Anela Dujsic (Mississauga, Ontario), Lauren Edelschein (Medford Lakes, N.J.), Katrina Elder-Bush (Boston, Mass.), Dana Gordon-Hartman (Margate, N.J.) and Polina Zaretser (Brooklyn, N.Y.).
Edelschein, who consistently played at five and six singles for Rutgers, is the team's lone senior this season. Bucca expects her to remain as a contributor for the Scarlet Knights and also provide leadership.
"If things continue the way they have started, she's going to provide exemplary senior leadership for this team," he said.
Elder-Bush posted a 14-9 record at first singles last year, and at the 2005 ITA East Regionals, she became the first female tennis player from Rutgers to advance to the round of 32. With Elder-Bush, Gordon-Hartman and Edelschein back from last year's top six, Bucca is excited about the potential of the team.
"With Katrina back and Dana, who played second singles, we have more experienced players at the top of the line-up," he said. "Lauren played consistently for us, and we also have Anela back who was in and out of the line-up last year. I expect all of these returners to have a big impact on the way things go and to help the new players get adjusted to playing collegiate tennis."
The Scarlet Knights will welcome three new faces to the team in Katherine Arlak (Leonia, N.J.), Caitlin Baker (Altoona, Pa.) and Christine Tran (Centreville, Va.).
"The freshmen have all arrived here with a great attitude," Bucca said. "They've all played on the national level, so we're hopeful that they're all going to make a significant contribution to the team."
Since being named head coach prior to the 2003-04 campaign, Bucca's teams have had much success in doubles, compiling a winning percentage over .700. Bucca believes the fall season is instrumental in having doubles success in the spring.
"We use the weekend tournaments in the fall to mix up our doubles line-ups and promote the women playing with one another so we can gain insight as to which teams might be the best-fitted for us to be successful," he said. "We hope to use the fall results to help solidify our doubles line-up for the spring."
Bucca is looking forward to the competition at Princeton this weekend, knowing the teams that are participating are of very high caliber.
"We're very fortunate to be invited because in addition to Princeton, Yale, Ohio State and the University of Buffalo will also be there," he said. "All of these teams are strong, year in and year out, so it'll be a great opening weekend for us."
