By
Dan Komyati
Arizona Daily Wildcat
The UA women's tennis team found itself in the first dual match this season with three of its top players ailing from sickness or injury.
It was an unfortunate sign of things to come.
When No. 1 singles player junior Lindsay Blau left the team due to a conflict of interest with the coaching staff after the fall season, the tone was set for a bumpy road through a difficult conference season.
After holding down a top-25 ranking for the first half of the dual-match season, inconsistency and untimely injuries dropped the Wildcats into the basement of the Pacific-10 Conference by year's end.
"Losing Lindsay definitely didn't help us, but we have a good enough team to have enjoyed more success this season," second-year head coach Brad Dancer said.
"There was a lot of progress as far as individual play was concerned, but we had a tough season in terms of team results with all of the 4-3 match losses."
The Wildcats (5-14 overall, 1-12 Pac-10) found themselves in a hole early in the season.
After injury-plagued losses to Southern California and UCLA to start the season, UA was unable to bounce back and defeat some of the Pac-10 opponents that they have handled in previous years.
Arizona's lone conference victory came in February against Oregon. The Wildcats dropped their final 10 matches against Pac-10 opponents.
Playing in the nation's top tennis conference has always had its up and downs for UA. This season, the difficult competition cost the Wildcats a berth in the NCAA Championship field of 64 - a difficult thing to swallow for a team with UA's talent level.
"I don't think we really competed well as a team this season," senior Michelle Gough said. "We had lots of opportunities to win matches, but we just couldn't seem to all play consistently well when we needed to."
After losing Blau, most of the leadership for the young Wildcat squad fell on Gough. Her talent earned her a berth in the NCAA Indoor Championships in Dallas in February. While sickness prevented her from advancing, the experience catapulted her into the team's No. 1 singles position.
While this season produced far less victories than UA is accustomed to, it was also a transitional season that displayed the impressive talents of the program's future.
Freshman Debbie Larocque's dominating early-season play earned her time at the No. 1 singles position, as the freshman led UA with 22 victories in her rookie campaign. Fellow freshman Perrine Pernin made substantial strides while at the bottom of the Wildcats singles lineup, impressing her coach with her passion and competitiveness.
While young talent will be plentiful next season for the Wildcats, it was two upperclassmen that showed their coaching staff and teammates this season that they will indeed be ready to lead the Wildcats next year.
Junior Sophie Regnier was a team-best 11-5 during the dual match season, and perhaps the most improved Wildcat this year was junior Laresa Marino.
"I think that Sophie had a great dual match season, she really raised her game to another level," Dancer said. "And Laresa just keeps on improving and playing better tennis.
"I'm tremendously excited with what we could do with those returning next year and the six new players that we're bringing in."
While Marino and Larocque highlighted UA's postseason by advancing to the doubles semifinals of the Pac-10 Championships, it is the doubles pairing of Gough and Regnier that will represent the Wildcats at the NCAA Championships May 21-25.
The tournament will conclude a stellar career for Gough. The native of Johannesburg has been a four-year starter and has a Pac-10 and Intercollegiate Tennis Associated Region VIII Tournament doubles championships on her resume.
"I've definitely enjoyed all my experiences here," Gough said, "It's been a lot of fun and I'm excited as the end of this chapter in my life brings about the beginning of a new one."
