Match 1: Kennesaw State at Samford
Date: Sunday, January 22; TBA
Location: Pat M. Courington Tennis Pavillion | Birmingham, Ala.
Social Media: Twitter

KENNESAW, Ga. – A young squad looking to continue its steady improvement, the Kennesaw State women's tennis team is set to open its spring schedule Sunday at Samford University.
 
The team is led by four juniors and added three freshmen to the mix for the fall season, which included tournaments at Western Carolina, Chattanooga, and Furman. The Owls closed their 2016 spring season strong by winning two of their last three matches – all against ASUN teams – and look to build on that as the calendar turns to 2017.
 
To preview the spring season, KSUOwls.com sat down with head coach Eduardo Rincon for his thoughts on the Owls:
 
KS: Talk about how the fall season has prepared this team for the spring.
Eduardo Rincon: "We gained a lot of value experience this fall by playing a lot of matches — not only in tournaments but in practice as well. It's been very gratifying to see the improvement we've made. Our goal is that we continue to improve as the season goes on. If we continue to improve at this rate, we will be fine. The girls have been practicing, working out and conditioning and really taking care of their business. I'm looking forward to watching them compete and watching them improve as the season goes on."
 
KS: The roster is very young, with no seniors.
ER: "We do have some juniors on our team — Cristina Perez-Martin, Alexandra Mercado, Laura Hopton and Kennedy Craig — those girls have been really working hard and pushing the team in practice so far this winter. That being said, I don't consider this team a "young" team, but on paper it is. The dynamics are difficult to explain, but with the competition we had in the fall and the schedule we had, that should help translate into us playing more like an experienced team this spring once conference play arrives. Cristina has done well her first two years here, and she's really matured the last few months. I anticipate her having a great year and having a great influence on the rest of the team.
 
KS: Tell us about a few of the younger guys that may make an impact this spring.
ER: "I really like that many of our younger players are standing out. It's something I've noticed, and our other coaches have noticed. We really look forward to watching Jada Tijani. She has developed tremendously. She's a great athlete and hits the ball extremely well. I anticipate her playing most of the matches in the spring.
 
KS: How do you see the schedule preparing you for the ASUN Conference?
ER: "Again, the ASUN is a very strong and very competitive conference. The non-conference schedule is hopefully going to set us up well to have some success in the conference season. I'm looking forward to the schedule, seeing our team continue to improve, and hopefully treat each match as a tool to improve. As long as we're improving we're going to be fine."
 
KS: Give us your thoughts on recruiting locally, and what you're looking for?
ER: "It's huge. When I first got here that's exactly what I wanted to do. We really wanted to base our team on local players — local talent — for many reasons. I also try and recruit kids that have played other sports growing up — baseball, soccer, football, you name it. Because as you know, college tennis is a team sport and don't necessarily have that experience overseas. I always prefer those that have played other sports. Jessica Cantrell has played other sports, Kennedy Craig, Jada, Jake and David played baseball until they were 13 or 14 years old, and that has really helped them to develop as people. It's a team effort, and in tennis that's not always easy to understand, but I think we've gotten this program to a point where we understand that mentality."

To keep up with the latest Kennesaw State women's tennis news follow the team on Twitter @KSUOwlNation and @KSUWomensTennis or by liking Kennesaw State University on Facebook.

-#GoKSUOwls-