FullertonTitans.com caught up with Cal State Fullerton women's tennis second-year head coach Dianne Matias as she prepares for the upcoming year and looks forward to the future of Titan Tennis.
The Titans are scheduled to open the 2015 season at 11 a.m., Saturday, hosting Nevada at Titan Tennis Courts.
Also, the Titans will welcome Cal State Los Angeles at 11 .am., Friday in a scrimmage at Titan Tennis Courts.
FullertonTitans.com: How have you been preparing for the upcoming 2015 season?
Dianne Matias: The team got a few weeks off after finals, but a lot of the players have been participating in tournaments over the break and still continuing with strength and conditioning on their own. We worked so hard over the fall, so we don't want all that hard work to go to waste. A lot of our players have played on their own and have been hitting with each other.
FT: Can you share with Titan fans your evaluation of the fall?
DM: Overall I was satisfied with our results in the fall. We started off with the Beach Tennis Tournament, and there were doubles pairings that we had never tried before so it was a good way to gauge who plays better with whom. We did pretty well in terms of singles, and in every match we played I felt we improved. By the end of the Beach Tennis Tournament, I felt we were a better team than at the start.
At our last tournaments, Kalika (Slevcove) and Emilia (Borkowski) did really well winning doubles at the Matador Collegiate Invitational, and Kalika reached the singles finals in the same tournament. It was nice to see Emilia, who was injured last year, playing again to measure where she is at with her tennis. At the Jack Kramer Tournament, we played a lot of top teams in the nation, so it was a good way to gauge where our players are with those top teams, and we performed strongly.
FT: In your second year with the program, what has changed from year one to year two?
DM: I think the biggest change is knowing the players better. I think last year there was a little of the unknown on both the coaches' sides and players' sides. We were both trying to feel each other out. But I think after the first year, the players now know what the expectations are. I know their games better, and I know their personalities better as well. I think this year there are more expectations from everyone, and everyone knows their role on the team.
FT: As we look forward to the season, can you give fans an insight to your lineup?
DM: To be honest, we are still trying to figure out the lineup. A lot of the players are very close in level and everyone has played pretty well. I think throughout the season we'll have a fairly stable lineup, but for right now, I told the team that the lineup is not set in stone, and everyone needs to keep working hard and keep pulling their weight.
FT: Give us your analysis of the Big West Conference for this season?
DM: I think this year the Big West teams are pretty even. Long Beach State and UC Irvine are strong, but everyone else is pretty even and it's an open field. It will come down to who brings their best game each match, and that's exciting. I expect us to do well.
FT: The athletics department is continuing to update and renovate Titan Tennis Courts. What is your vision for the facility?
DM: We are definitely working on the branding of the facility. We are currently working on the branding of the wind screens, so hopefully by the time the season starts it will be ready to go. We just want to make it feel like its home for us, so everyone can tell this is Titan Tennis. We are continuing to think of ideas on how to do that. Hopefully in the future we will continue to improve the facility, but there are little things happening right now that are exciting.
In the future, I envision an LED scoreboard, lights, umpire chairs, grandstands within the facility for an intimate setting and the capability to broadcast the match as well as live scoring so fans can watch from home.
FT: Anything else you would like to add about the upcoming season?
DM: I'm excited and the team is excited. Our goal every day is just to keep getting better, keep improving and enjoy the process. I think the winning will take care of itself. The biggest thing is for us to focus on what we can control and that's showing up every day at practice and putting the hard work in, and if we do that good things will happen.