University of Minnesota Athletics
First Serve With Caroline Ryba
2/9/2017 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Minneapolis, Minn. - After defeating back to back ranked opponents in singles matches and the Gophers placing third, University of Minnesota junior Caroline Ryba was named MVP of the Courtside Classic.
This spring Ryba is 2-1 in dual matches in the No. 1 singles spot and 3-2 in doubles with freshman Cammy Frei.
GopherSports.com: How did it feel being named MVP of the Courtside Classic?
Caroline Ryba: It felt great to be named MVP. Going into the weekend, I didn't expect to do as well as I did so doing well obviously felt good, and being recognized for my performance makes it even more special.
GS: How does winning over two ranked players in a weekend boost your confidence?
CR: The two wins I had this weekend boosted my confidence and made some aspects of my game (strengths, things I need to work on) very apparent. I proved to myself that I could beat these good players despite not even playing my very best at all times, and that meant a lot especially after having a rocky start to this season (against NIU and Marshall). Looking ahead to the rest of the season, we're going to play so many tough teams and it will be nice to have this weekend to look back on and build off of.
GS: What are you most looking forward to in the rest of the season?
CR: I'm really looking forward to the rest of the dual matches and all of the strong teams we're going to play. Our team is very young, feisty, and deep and I'm really excited to be a part of more hard-fought matches and to just see how far we can progress from here.
GS: Canny Frei is your doubles partner. Can you talk a little bit about your partnership and where you see Cammy going in the future?
CR: Yeah, I love playing with Cammy! It's an ongoing joke on the team that we are very similar people in our personalities and how we think on the court, so we definitely use that to our advantage in doubles. I see a lot of potential in Cammy and her game. She hits big shots and has a lot of strengths and I think her game will grow even more throughout her college career.
GS: How do you balance your workload with Chemical Engineering and tennis?
CR: Balancing Chemical Engineering and tennis is mostly a matter of time management and taking care of things like my health and how much I sleep, and using any free time effectively. I tend to do better in all aspects of my life when I have some sort of routine, so I try to establish that early on in the semester and just stay on top of all of my responsibilities.
GS: What do you think your strengths and weaknesses are coming off this weekend?
CR: I think my strengths are my consistency, movement, and serve. These three things were working for me and I think they contributed to the wins. My weaknesses are probably my serve returns.
Story by Athletic Communications Student Assistant Caroline Sobek.
Players Mentioned
