Published: May 07, 2008 11:07 pm            

NCAA racket: ISU women’s tennis prepares to take on Vandy in NCAA Tournament

TERRE HAUTE — During a Tuesday practice at Duane Klueh Tennis Complex, Indiana State women’s tennis coach Malik Tabet said that ISU tennis players Jennifer Migan and Joanne Schickerling came over to the United States on the same boat.

Tabet meant it metaphorically. Migan — from Bordeaux, France — and Schickerling — from Pretoria, South Africa — didn’t literally arrive in America together.

But they did join together as Sycamores four years ago and have been on the same boat, if you will, when it comes to the Sycamores’ rising women’s tennis fortunes.

When Migan and Schickerling arrived in 2004-05, Tabet was in his second year as coach and ISU was a steady, but not spectacular, Missouri Valley Conference performer. Four years later, the Sycamores are the Valley’s unbeaten standard bearer as they head into Friday’s NCAA Tournament regional at Vanderbilt.

“We know each other so well. If she’s down, I know when to bring her up and she does it for me. We’re always on the same level. We’ve always been. We’re roommates, we’ve gone through the program together and we knew this is where we wanted to be,” Schickerling said.

The women’s tennis team is the first ISU team to participate in a NCAA Tournament since 2002 when the men’s tennis team made it.

“I knew what this program needed in order for the program to be at the level it is now,” Tabet said. “I was lucky enough to bring in Jennifer and Joanne, the following year I brought in Fadz (Fadzai Masiyazi). I had to make them understand that it’s a long process, but I’ve never had any problems implementing my philosophies with the players.”

ISU (13-6) is ranked 70th in the nation in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Migan is rated as the 114th best singles player in the nation and will also compete in the individual NCAA tournament in Tulsa, Okla. later this month.

Collectively, all of ISU’s women’s tennis players are on a roll. Migan (17-1 in the spring) has won 15 straight in singles, Schickerling (11-6 spring) has won nine straight in singles. As a doubles team, they had won 15 in a row until falling to Wichita State in the MVC championships.

Sarah Meghoufel (15-2 spring) has won 12 straight, Masiyazi (12-6) has won 10 straight and Valeriia Petrovych (14-4) had won eight in a row until she lost in the MVC championships. Marie Caujolle rounds out the Sycamores’ roster.

“We’re all good friends, we have a good spirit and we all help each other. After Spring Break everything came together and we haven’t looked back,” Migan said.

No. 11 Vanderbilt (18-5) will be a formidable hurdle for the Sycamores in the single-elimination NCAA regional. The Commodores have five ranked players as opposed to ISU’s one, led by 17th-ranked Amanda Taylor. ISU is 2-1 against ranked foes this season, but none of their victories came against the caliber of competition Vanderbilt has.

“They’re where they are for a reason. Some of the players saw them at the Indiana indoor tournament in October [Meghoufel lost 6-3, 6-3 to Vanderbilt’s Keilly Ulrey at No. 2 singles], but it’s very hard to tell. We definitely have our chances in the top three. We’ll need to do well in doubles,” Tabet said. “But really, we just need to go for it. They think they’re going to roll over us, they’re not looking at us as a threat, but as soon as you can be stung by a bee things can change.”

ISU is the lowest-seeded team in the Vanderbilt Regional. The winner of the ISU-Vanderbilt match faces the No. 23 Kentucky-No. 44 Boise State winner on Saturday.



Tabet sizes up the Sycamores

ISU women’s coach Malik Tabet sizes up the individual talents of players expected to compete in Friday’s NCAA regional at Vanderbilt. Players listed in order of No. 1 to No. 5 singles:

Jennifer Migan:

“Jennifer still has technical improvements to make, but she has learned how to play stronger, how to come into the net a little bit more, she has learned to have bigger serves and she’s simplified her game. But her major strength is knowing how to handle tough situations and finding a solution to play every player.”

Sarah Meghoufel:

“She’s a clay player. She was one of the best junior players in north Africa on clay. She’ll take five hours to win a match. She’s very smart, she knows how to fight. She knows how to keep rallies going. She’s very consistent. Once she learns to come to the net and work on her serve, I can see her being a top twenty player in a few years.”

Joanne Schickerling:

“She’s got a big forehand, she’s got a big serve, she likes to come to the net. She has very aggressive, perfect style of hardcourt game. If she believed in herself a little bit more, she’d be a very tough player.”

Valeriia Petrovych:

“She arrived in January and is trying to adjust to the system. She did a really good job acclimating herself. She’s been very consistent. She could be one of the top three players in the program next year.”

Fadzai Masiyasi:

“She probably has the most important position on the team. Most teams really emphasize bringing points from the No. 5 or No. 6 spots and she’s been very consistent for us winning the most important matches. She’s doesn’t have any specific weaknesses or strengths, she just knows how to win matches and she just figures things out.”

— Todd Golden

        

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