The women's tennis team has a decidedly new look this season.
Since two-time All-Americans Wendy Lyons and Monica Mraz graduated in May, the Blue Devils present a younger team than they have in years--with no seniors occupying the court.
The team opens its fall season of individual competition at tournaments by playing at the Wolfpack Invitational in Raleigh this weekend.
Three new faces join the Blue Devils this year. Junior Diana Spadea--the sister of sophomore Luanne Spadea--has transferred to Duke from UCLA. Freshmen Vanessa Webb, the No. 1 junior player from Canada, and Kristen Sanderson--rated the No. 12 junior player in the U.S.--have also added depth to the team.
Due to the new faces, head coach Jody Hyden is using the fall tournaments as an exploratory time for his players, especially in doubles.
"We're trying different combinations right now," Hyden said. "We only have one returning [doubles] team, [junior Wendy] Fix and [sophomore Laura] Zifer . . . We've got eight good players on this team, and all eight of them can play with anybody."
Four Duke players will see competition in the singles portion of the Invitational. Sanderson will not play in the tournament due to recent sinus problems. Webb, Fix, Diana Spadea and sophomore Ellen McCance are all expected to perform well this weekend.
"I don't think anybody is playing their best yet, but if that was the case, we wouldn't need practice," Hyden said. "We play in a tournament because it gets people matches and it gets them a break-in tournament for the year. We've got as good a shot to do well as anybody else there. I think that really anybody we have can step up and win the tournament."
Luanne Spadea--who was out most of last year with a thyroid condition--will be playing doubles this weekend. She has fully recovered and will begin playing singles next weekend in the South Carolina Invitational.
"Luanne is healthy and ready to go," Hyden said. "She's not going to play singles this first tournament because she hasn't played a singles match in a year."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.