The Plattsburgh State tennis team thinks consistency will be the key to winning games as the season progresses.
Sophomore Jackie Ciriello said the Cardinals played great against St. Lawrence and put their best foot forward, but they need to be more consistent.
“Every girl on the other team was more consistent and was able to hit one more ball than we were able to,” Ciriello said.
Freshman Taylor Perre said it was a tough match that illuminated some weak points, but the nice weather helped the team. She said the team needs to improve its overall play and become more consistent.
“It gets in your head when you hit a shot out and mess up, so we need to focus on playing our game and it’ll all work out,” Perre said.
Head coach Annmarie Curle said the team needs to work on movement and positioning because the players sometimes don’t move around enough on the court.
“We have moments of good footwork and good combinations,” Curle said. “What we need to do is having that become more consistent and be the norm.” After the loss, PSUC’s record falls to 2-4 overall and 0-3 in SUNYAC play.
The Cards next matches will be Saturday at Oswego State (4-6) and Sunday at Hamilton College (3-0) for an out-of-conference tilt.
These will be the last matches of the regular season for the PSUC before the SUNYAC Tournament Oct. 10 in Binghamton.
In the SUNYAC, both Oswego and PSUC have lost to Cortland, Oneonta and New Paltz. Oswego has gone 4-6 this season and is currently on a two game winning streak while PSUC is on a one game losing streak, giving Oswego the momentum in the matchup.
Hamilton has beaten Cortland, Oneonta and Union, three teams the Cards have played and all lost to. The Cards will have a disadvantage with
Hamilton being able to figure out the teams they couldn’t.
Ciriello said she needs to work on her consistency because when she messes up,, she gets frustrated and it gets inside her head.
Curle said the team needs to work on their overall consistency. The issues she said, is a result of inexperience. She said the way they will gain the knowledge is through practicing and playing.
Assistant coach Joe Higgins said the team needs to work on winning the mental battle, and they need to become more experienced and pay close attention to the details of matches.
“It’s about knowing how much pressure to place on this shot or point and knowing how to operate in any situation,” Higgins said.
Ciriello said it will be a tough weekend, but she feels confident about the team’s chances against both Oswego and Hamilton.
“We just have a lot of practicing forehands and backhands to keep the consistency up because the opponent will eventually miss,” Ciriello said.
Email Matt Sheehan at matt.sheehan@cardinalpointsonline.com.
