University of Minnesota Athletics
Senior Lambert Ready to Lead Hometown Team
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
MINNEAPOLIS (GopherSports.com) - In her last season with the Gopher women's tennis team, Aria Lambert hopes to play the best tennis of her life.
The highly-touted recruit out of Deephaven, Minn. will begin her final season with the Gophers this weekend at the Gopher Invitational. As a senior and the only Minnesotan on the 2014-15 roster, Lambert finds herself in a unique leadership position. With such a role comes responsibility and honor, which Lambert welcomes with open arms.
"I love being here representing my state," Lambert said. "I grew up here, and know a lot of tennis people in the area. I just like that I'm close to home."
This hometown pride has its perks, as Coach Chuck Merzbacher sees it shining through Lambert's work ethic. Although Merzbacher stepped in to his coaching role after Lambert was recruited, he has seen her progress over the last two seasons.
"She's got a great deal of pride in her game, the team, and her school," Merzbacher said. "She listens very well, and she just runs with her improvement. She really wants to help the team, and I know that."
Even before her senior season begins, Lambert has already proven to be a reliable team leader. Last season, Lambert led the Gophers to its best season overall since 2003 with 17 wins, translating into a seven-win improvement from the previous season. Alone, Lambert picked up six singles wins in Big Ten play and went 23-14 overall.
"I wanted to get as many wins as possible," Lambert said. "I just played hard and did my best. You get results when that happens."
Merzbacher saw first-hand how those results played out, and was extremely pleased with Lambert's performance and skill set.
"She stepped up a lot and won a lot of big matches for us," Merzbacher said. "She took her game to the next level."
Lambert doesn't leave her leadership position on the court. In fact, Merzbacher insists that Lambert is known for her great sense of humor no matter what the team may be facing.
"She's always one to laugh and doesn't take herself too seriously," Merzbacher said. "She brings a smile to your face and definitely keeps things lighter."
Looking into the future, Merzbacher hopes to attract more local players like Lambert to the program. He said that having a local two-time high school state champion on his team was a gift.
"It's important to keep the best players in the state," Merzbacher said. "We want local players like Aria to keep looking at us."
Story by Lexi Diederich
