Women's Tennis Serves Up Yet Another Successful Season
April 23, 2008 | Women's Tennis
April 23, 2008
BOSTON - The women's tennis team is a true asset to Boston University athletics, with a proud history of success and no end in sight. BU women's tennis has won 18 of the 19 America East championships contested, including each of the last 14.
In its last regular season spring match on April 15, the women proved they were the team to beat with a victory over the University of Massachusetts. BU earned straight-sets victories in five of the six singles matches and won all the three double matches to take the doubles point.
This has set the Terriers in good stead for America East Conference championships on April 25-27. The program seeks its 15th consecutive conference crown and 10th bid to the NCAA championship.
The guiding hand behind all this success is 23rd-year head coach Lesley Sheehan. A 1984 graduate of Boston University, she played in the 1983 and 1984 NCAA championships and was one of the best women's tennis players to come out of BU.
Sheehan capitalizes on her own experiences to coach the women. "I certainly use what I went through in college," said Sheehan. "This guides me as a coach. Having been through the whole system myself, it is good to know exactly what an athlete goes through in college."
This wealth of knowledge has helped her coach the Terriers to a perfect record in America East matches. And in recognition of her outstanding collegiate career, she became the first women's player to be inducted into the BU Athletic Hall of Fame.
The Terrier women's tennis team is a very young team, without an active senior on the roster. The squad is captained by juniors Cori Lefkowith and Danielle Abraham and counts junior Yana Sadovskaya, sophomores Francine Whu and Liz Corrao and freshmen Dasha Zakharchenko and Vanessa Steiner as members.
"We are a very young team with our only senior, Laura Steikema, injured, but the younger girls certainly handle the pressure and compete to their best ability," said Sheehan.
With seven very talented athletes under her belt, it is no surprise Sheehan handles her coaching duties with ease. Her objective is to give each player a chance to prosper as an individual and come together as a team.
"No matter where the women play, whether it is first, third or sixth singles, each win they get is a point for the team, and the girls understand this and play at their best no matter who they are playing," said Sheehan.
With experience, knowledge and expertise, Sheehan is leading the Terriers to yet another successful end of the season. All eyes will be on the women this coming weekend as they play their most important matches of the season, all in an effort to earn yet another NCAA bid and solidify their spot at the top of the America East.
Cassie Rhodes is a senior at Boston University and a member of the Terrier women's rowing team. She can be reached at crhodes@bu.edu.
