By Ashley Herndon, Staff Reporter
The HSU women’s tennis team competed in the ITA Regional Tournament on Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22.
Among those who did well was Lauren Schaffer, who made it to round 16 along with her doubles partner, Caitlyn Hawthorne.
After their success, Schaffer and her teammates will be preparing for the conference in the spring. They will hit often in captain-led practices, as they can’t have coach-led practices due to Division III rules. “We’re going to work a lot, even though we can’t have practice,” Schaffer said.
When asked about expectations for the upcoming spring season, Schaffer said she tries not to expect anything, as life itself is unpredictable. Instead, the team chooses to have goals and hopes for the season. “Definitely one of the goals that we have is to win the conference. Every year we keep getting better, and the older players believe we have the skills to win,” Schaffer said.
Schaffer is also a first-year student at Hardin-Simmons University. She was raised in Abilene and didn’t want to stay in a small town. She instead wanted to spread her wings and be an adult. However, when her mother got a job in the Physical Therapy program, she agreed to tour the campus.
“After meeting the coach and the team, I decided I really, really liked the school, and the campus is amazing,” Schaffer said.
Other than tennis, Schaffer is also part of the Julius Olsen Honors Program, which had a retreat the same weekend as the ITA Regional Tournament. “The retreat was during ITA, so I couldn’t go, but I look forward to spending time with the program when I’m not with my team,” Schaffer said.
Come support HSU women’s tennis during the spring, as they are preparing now to fight for the conference title.
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