CONWAY — The Sugar Bear tennis team begins a new era on Saturday as UCA hosts Louisiana Tech at 2 p.m. to open the Sugar Bears' first season under head coach Jeff Borengasser.
Borengasser, who came to UCA last summer after winning eight league titles and five coach of the year awards in seven seasons as the men's and women's coach at Westminster College, guided the team through their fall exhibition season and hopes to build off their progress as they enter the 2012 season.
"The fall season was a great time for us to build on an already strong team chemistry," he said. "We found some doubles combinations that are working well and will hopefully make doubles a strength of our team this spring."
In addition to working on team chemistry, much of the offseason was spent with a heavy emphasis placed on conditioning.
"Our focus this fall and through the offseason has been a commitment to conditioning, which contributes to performance and builds confidence and toughness," he said. "We've worked in practice to develop all aspects of our game, including consistently choosing the right strategy and competing at 100 percent effort no matter what the score or situation."
Five players return from last year's team, with three new additions filling out the young roster.
There is one senior in Allison Hartman of Brandon, Miss., and one junior in Kazumi Otani of Kyoto, Japan, leaving three sophomores and three freshmen to complete the squad.
"The three freshmen – Kristina Horsikyan, Allison Murphy and Stephanie Gonzalez – have added strength and depth to the lineup," Borengasser said. "As far as returning players, Allison Hartman played and competed really well in our fall tournaments. As spring practices have started she has continued to step up as a team leader. She has had some unfortunate injury issues in previous seasons, so being healthy has allowed her to work hard on conditioning and sharpening her skills – which adds confidence when she's out there competing."
Simona Horsikyan, Kristina's older sister, returns as the team's No. 1 singles player.
"She works very hard and leads by example," Borengasser said of the sophomore from Kardzhali, Bulgaria. "She continues to improve and develop an all-court game, which makes her a big contributor in doubles as well as singles."
Borengasser is also optimistic about the continued development of Otani and sophomore Sasha Ruocco, who both turned in strong fall seasons.
"They've both continued to refine already good all-court styles of play," he said. "They've been playing with a great deal of confidence during the first couple weeks of spring practice, and that's something we hope carries over into the season."
Sophomore Maribelle Siegfried hopes to make a bigger impact after being limited in her freshman season, though she starts the year battling injuries.
"She's been dealing with an injury early in the spring, but she brings a great attitude and is a strong player who adds to our team depth," Borengasser said.
After Saturday's home match with La. Tech, the Sugar Bears will play UALR in North Little Rock on Jan. 31 before hitting the road to take on UT Arlington and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 4.
The Sugar Bears return home for three of their 11 home matches beginning Feb. 11 with Stephen F. Austin, followed by Southeast Missouri State on the 12th and UA-Fort Smith on the 15th.
