University of Minnesota Athletics
Photo by: Craig Lassig
Fall Season Check-In: Catrina Thompson
10/24/2019 10:31:00 AM | Tennis
The University of Minnesota women's tennis team is halfway through their fall season. So far, the team has accumulated 53 wins in just two tournaments and will head to Fort Myers, Fla., next week to compete in the Florida Gulf Coast Invitational. We decided to catch up with head coach Catrina Thompson to hear about their success and what the team is looking forward to the rest of the fall.
Gopher Sports: Is there anything that has stood out to you so far during the fall season?
Catrina Thompson: It's been good to see our three newcomers, we have Dalila who transferred from Georgia Tech, who was injured but she is close to getting back and is practicing with the team. Lucia and Ekin are adjusting to college life and getting in the swing of things with school and tennis. Tiffany had the best tournament of anyone at the ITA Central Regional. She beat a top opponent and made it to the doubles round of 16 with Tina. Both of them have played at the top of the lineup for us. Tina her entire career at Minnesota and Tiffany last year and this year. So just seeing them build off of that has stood out.
GS: Have you seen any improvements from the team? How do you build off of those improvements?
CT: For the last two and-a-half years we have told the group that if we improve together, it will help us win more. Consistency, discipline, and professionalism is what we preach to the girls. I think overall we have done a lot better on our consistency and ball tolerance. It is something we have continued to work on and are making progress, but it won't happen overnight. It's something we can look back on from where we started and where we are now and be happy with ourselves.
GS: You have two tournaments left in the fall season, what are some things you are looking forward to?
CT: The next tournament we go to is the FCGU Invitational and it will be played on clay. A few of our girls are really excited because they grew up playing on clay. The men's team is traveling with us so it'll be nice to have a big Minnesota team there. The biggest thing we are looking forward to is getting the chance to pair up some new doubles teams together. Get one last look at what we can do for the lineup and mix some things around. That's why these fall tournaments are great.
GS: What kind of competition are you expecting at the FGCU Invitational? How is the team preparing for that?
CT: The competition will be good. We get to play another B1G opponent, Purdue, who we haven't competed against in the last couple of years. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see what we will expect in the spring. Florida Gulf Coast is always a tough team, we battled it out with them a few years ago and we are looking forward to battling against them again. It'll be three more days of matches. The biggest thing we need moving forward is match play and the girls will get that at Florida Gulf Coast.
GS: What are some things you are excited about going into the last half of the fall season?
CT: The biggest excitement is knowing that spring is right around the corner, that's when we want to be playing our best tennis. As we finish out the fall here, getting a ton of matches in and a chance to work with the girls. In the summer, girls go home, take classes, or have internships so you don't get to work with them as much. To be able to work day in and day out with them and continue to reach our goals at the beginning of the season is something we look forward to.
GS: You ended the Gopher Invitational with a record of 41-6. How does it feel to be able to be so successful on your home courts?
CT: The girls have a huge wave of confidence every time we step on our home courts. I know that's something they take with each match and something they take pride in. When we are at home, we tell them that we are going to protect our house and they have done an incredible job at that since we have been here. We play almost our entire schedule at home in February so we are looking forward to that.
GS: What makes this team so special?
CT: They're a great group of girls to be with. The cool thing about team sports is that you have different personalities and we have a lot of fun personalities on the team that are enjoyable to be around each day. With this group, we try to get a little bit better each year and this year we hope to make some runs in tournaments at the end of the fall season.
Gopher Sports: Is there anything that has stood out to you so far during the fall season?
Catrina Thompson: It's been good to see our three newcomers, we have Dalila who transferred from Georgia Tech, who was injured but she is close to getting back and is practicing with the team. Lucia and Ekin are adjusting to college life and getting in the swing of things with school and tennis. Tiffany had the best tournament of anyone at the ITA Central Regional. She beat a top opponent and made it to the doubles round of 16 with Tina. Both of them have played at the top of the lineup for us. Tina her entire career at Minnesota and Tiffany last year and this year. So just seeing them build off of that has stood out.
GS: Have you seen any improvements from the team? How do you build off of those improvements?
CT: For the last two and-a-half years we have told the group that if we improve together, it will help us win more. Consistency, discipline, and professionalism is what we preach to the girls. I think overall we have done a lot better on our consistency and ball tolerance. It is something we have continued to work on and are making progress, but it won't happen overnight. It's something we can look back on from where we started and where we are now and be happy with ourselves.
GS: You have two tournaments left in the fall season, what are some things you are looking forward to?
CT: The next tournament we go to is the FCGU Invitational and it will be played on clay. A few of our girls are really excited because they grew up playing on clay. The men's team is traveling with us so it'll be nice to have a big Minnesota team there. The biggest thing we are looking forward to is getting the chance to pair up some new doubles teams together. Get one last look at what we can do for the lineup and mix some things around. That's why these fall tournaments are great.
GS: What kind of competition are you expecting at the FGCU Invitational? How is the team preparing for that?
CT: The competition will be good. We get to play another B1G opponent, Purdue, who we haven't competed against in the last couple of years. It'll be a good opportunity for us to see what we will expect in the spring. Florida Gulf Coast is always a tough team, we battled it out with them a few years ago and we are looking forward to battling against them again. It'll be three more days of matches. The biggest thing we need moving forward is match play and the girls will get that at Florida Gulf Coast.
GS: What are some things you are excited about going into the last half of the fall season?
CT: The biggest excitement is knowing that spring is right around the corner, that's when we want to be playing our best tennis. As we finish out the fall here, getting a ton of matches in and a chance to work with the girls. In the summer, girls go home, take classes, or have internships so you don't get to work with them as much. To be able to work day in and day out with them and continue to reach our goals at the beginning of the season is something we look forward to.
GS: You ended the Gopher Invitational with a record of 41-6. How does it feel to be able to be so successful on your home courts?
CT: The girls have a huge wave of confidence every time we step on our home courts. I know that's something they take with each match and something they take pride in. When we are at home, we tell them that we are going to protect our house and they have done an incredible job at that since we have been here. We play almost our entire schedule at home in February so we are looking forward to that.
GS: What makes this team so special?
CT: They're a great group of girls to be with. The cool thing about team sports is that you have different personalities and we have a lot of fun personalities on the team that are enjoyable to be around each day. With this group, we try to get a little bit better each year and this year we hope to make some runs in tournaments at the end of the fall season.
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