The Wildcats tennis team faced off with the women in the Corpus Christi Invitational Sept. 13-14 with their games on Sept. 15 getting rained out. While the men took on teams in the New Mexico State Invitational Sept. 13-Sept. 15.

This was the debut of the 2019 fall tournament season for the ACU Tennis team. On the women’s team, there were three freshmen who had their debut tournament on the team.

“This time of year is great for the freshman and newcomer because the fall is about individuals and it helps them learn the expectations of a college team,” head tennis coach John Walker said. “A tournament environment shows the true character of a player, while also showing how much determination they have.”

This is a busy time of year for the ACU tennis team because it allows them to work individually and hone in on their strengths before having to work as a team later on in the spring. Walker believes that it allows the team to also focus on building a relationship with newcomers as a family while still being able to enhance their skills one on one.

“I was impressed,” Walker said, “by how the older players took them in as a family and really accepted them.”

Walker also said it meant a lot to him as he was also very impressed by how all four freshmen; Clarie Fisher, Eva Du Toit, Andrea Guerrero, and Anna Hosking, all had the willingness to learn, improve and work as a team with the older players mentoring them.

This is a major time of year for those freshmen because it allows them to get well acclimated with the team and to really get a feel for the ACU tournament season leading up to spring tennis.

The next ACU women’s tennis matches will take place Sept. 20-Sept. 22 at the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational in Las Cruces, New Mexico.