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MAC title on line for RedHawks
Despite injuries, the team is undefeated in league play.
Friday, April 11, 2008
OXFORD — Freshman Anastasia Dracheva is a good example of the strong determination shown by a Miami University women's tennis team riddled with injuries.
Over the RedHawks' last 10 matches, according to first-year coach Howard Joffe, "We have not played with our starting lineup once."
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Yet Miami stands 11-5 overall and 5-0 in the Mid-American Conference, its best MAC start since 1999, and this weekend will play two home matches with the regular-season championship on the line.
"It does suggest that the fabric of the team has become a helluva lot tougher," Joffe said. "Their tenacity has been fantastic."
The RedHawks will face Bowling Green today, April 11, and then collide with defending champion Western Michigan on Saturday, April 12. The Broncos have won 30 straight MAC matches.
Both contests will start at 1 p.m. at Hepburn Varsity Courts. In case of inclement weather, the matches would be moved indoors to Riverside Athletic Club in Hamilton.
Dracheva, an 18-year-old from Moscow, Russia, has been named MAC player of the week twice this season despite being hampered by a foot injury, and despite being homesick for parents who live more than 5,000 miles away.
"When I first came here I was not homesick at all," Dracheva said Thursday after practice. "But now, yeah, I wish my parents could be here. I talk to them on the phone every day."
On the other hand, Dracheva obviously feels at home on the tennis court. This season she is 10-2 at No. 1 singles,
4-2 at No. 1 doubles with sophomore Brintney Larson and 5-0 at No. 2 doubles with freshman Megan Martzolf.
Dracheva said the entire team looks forward to a weekend with title implications.
"It's really exciting," she said. "We're working hard and right now we feel like we're ready (to win)."
Miami will conclude its regular season at home against Northern Illinois next Friday, April 18, and then play in the MAC tournament at Buffalo April 24-27. The tourney champion will claim the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.
