Issue date: 3/5/09 Section: Sports

Eastern junior Hayley Homburg hits the ball back to her partner during tennis practice on Feb. 26 in Lantz Fieldhouse. Homburg is the only junior on the Eastern women's tennis team this season. The Panthers are relying on four freshmen to carry them through the rest of the season. The Panthers are 3-6 this season. (Erin Matheny/The Daily Eastern News)

The Eastern women's tennis team is young.

This season the Panthers (3-6) sport four freshmen.

Although their record is not where they would like it, Eastern head tennis coach John Blackburn believes the team has continually improved throughout this season.

He has especially noticed the improved play of the freshmen.

Shannon Brooks, Amanda Dibbs, Annie Egan and Juliana Frey have been making a difference.

Blackburn said in tennis it is common for freshmen to come in and make an immediate impact.

"In tennis, you typically only carry six to eight players, and a lot of times the number of players dictates the level of action they will see early on," he said.

Blackburn quickly mentioned that each freshman has improved on something since coming to Eastern. He said that in both the singles competition and doubles events, he saw improvement from his players.

"Juliana and Annie seem to be able to play longer points and matches, while Shannon brings a really good all-court game," Blackburn said. "Amanda brings a very aggressive game and hits a very heavy ball that is difficult for opponents to deal with."

Dibbs agreed that the freshmen have made strides this season, but there is also room for improvement.

"I've tried to improve my match play and just trying to make sure I'm ready for each opponent," she said.

Dibbs credits her sister Liz with getting her interested in tennis and said her parents Dotlyn and Brian also encouraged her. Her mom played tennis at Connecticut.

Dibbs is currently 5-4 in doubles play this season.

While Egan is only a combined 1-3 in doubles play, she is 4-5 in singles matches.

Egan said while her record has struggled, she has continued to learn and work on little things.

"We've tried to do a lot of work on my strokes and the technique of my serve," Egan said. "Practicing on these things has helped me learn and with practice, I'll be able to improve."

Egan said she really took an interest in tennis during her high school career in Rochester. Egan was heavily influenced by Rochester's High School coach Bill Gaffigan and credits him with her early progression in tennis.

Rounding out the freshman women's tennis roster is Brooks and Frey.

Brooks is currently 2-3 in singles competition and a combined 3-4 in doubles competition.

Frey is currently having the best season statistically out of the freshmen with a record of 5-3 in singles competition and 4-5 in doubles competitions.

As Blackburn mentioned, Frey's strength remains in her late-match strength. Out of her five single wins, three have come in the last three sets of play.


Neil Schneider can be reached at 581-7944 or at jnschneider@eiu.edu.

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