“We are witnessing the best record the women’s tennis team has had in a long time,” said Anne Landay ’05, last year’s women’s tennis captain, who had come all the way from Raleigh to support the Quakers during their match against Emory & Henry College last Sunday afternoon. Guilford’s record of nine wins and four losses in early April is the best record Head Coach Jennifer Anderson ’96 has had at the helm of women’s tennis, and foreshadows the first winning season for the Quakers in eight years – and a rebirth after the 11th-place Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) finish in 2005.

“In the past, we always wanted to be first in the conference,” Anderson said. “This year, we’ve set more realistic goals, saying we want to be better than we were last year. Setting such an attainable goal reduced the pressure on the girls, and we have achieved it so far.”

Except for the relief of having reasonable expectations, Anderson attributes this year’s success to effective recruiting as well as the invaluable support of Athletic Director Marion Kirby.

“Everything relies on recruiting,” Anderson said. “Especially with Guilford exposing many of its departments a little more and providing more options for students, this has opened ways for students who may otherwise not have come here.”

Despite her team’s 6-3 win on Sunday, Emory & Henry Head Coach Beverly Hatch was impressed by Guilford’s resilience.

“Even last year you could tell the program was improving, and this year that definitely came off,” Hatch said.

Guilford had to cope with Landay’s graduation as well as the mid-fall departure of last year’s first-seed Bridget Boyd, who decided to pursue a different academic path. According to Anderson, however, Boyd’s departure has not “broken the girls’ spirits,” especially since, in her stead, the Quakers welcomed first-years Nika Botkin and Lia Williams to take spots one and two.

“We don’t have a low point on our team,” said Guilford sophomore and fifth-seed Caitlin Mayton. “We are strong all the way down the roster.”

“Guilford has improved a lot since last year,” said Emory & Henry senior and first-seed Trista McGlothlin. “They have stronger hitters and some good servers. Especially in doubles where that’s key.”

Senior captain Song an Nguyen is the squad’s only upper-classman. Despite being Guilford’s best performer over the past two-seasons with 32 wins and only 7 losses, Nguyen attributes her success to the team.

“Even though tennis is an individual sport, we are still working together as a team,” Nguyen said.

In her first year on the team, being the only Asian player, Nguyen was extremely shy and nervous. Nguyen admits that she would not have overcome the initial fear and improved her game so much had it not been for the support of her doubles partner and friend, Landay.

Now Nguyen has become the team’s captain. Anderson admires her “strong mental game” and her “excellent way of taking down the game of others.” With her masterful slice and unerring consistency, Nguyen has won 14 and only lost 2 games this season at third-seed in singles.

Yet, as Sport Information Director Dave Walters pointed out, Guilford still has a fairly young team. He is confident, however, that if women’s tennis continues to gain experience and enjoy the success of winning, it is going to keep getting better, especially with a team depth that fosters greater flexibility and competition.

For this season, Anderson would be glad to see a top-six (of 11) conference finish. However, expecting the team to maintain continuity with the return of at least four letter-winners next fall, as well as the arrival of four new players, Anderson hopes that in the near future, women’s tennis can vie again for top-three ODAC recognition.

“It’s a still a very young team, but it’s good because it means they have much growing to do – they have not peaked and plummeted yet,” Landay concluded. “There is no doubt these players hold a lot of promise.”

Although the girls admit they barely have any fans at home games these days, Anderson believes that with Guilford hosting this year’s ODAC Tournament (Apr. 21-23) – featuring second-in-the-nation Washington & Lee University – the Quakers’ will finally be rewarded with some interest and community support.