With only one sophomore on this year’s squad, however, longtime coach Dick King and the Lady Leopards are hoping for much better results this time around in Tucson.
Paced by top singles players and doubles partners Ashlea Baker and Raven Lewis, TC takes the goal of a top-10 finish into nationals for this year’s tournament, which begins today at Randolph Tennis Center.
“We’re ranked No. 12 in the country, and realistically I think we could be between 10th and sixth (in the final standings at nationals),” King said. “It’ll depend on the draws and how we handle pressure.”
Baker, a freshman from Bendigo, Australia, who transferred to TC between semesters, is the nation’s 18th-ranked singles player and owns a 12-5 record this spring.
She won all of her matches en route to the Region V Tournament championship in Plano and will compete in the No. 1 flight, where she’ll have an outside shot to land a top-eight seed.
The Lady Leopards’ No. 2 singles player is freshman Lewis, who had an impressive showing en route to a runner-up finish in the TC-hosted Southwest JUCO Championships last month. She also was the runner-up at the regional tournament.
Lewis, from Fort Worth, is ranked 29th in the nation with a 15-11 record for the school year and might earn a national seed, King said.
The rest of Temple’s singles lineup is Reese Hall - trying to come back from a knee injury - at No. 3, Amanda Armenta at No. 4, lone sophomore Natalie Foster at No. 5 and Kristen Baker (Harker Heights) at No. 6.
Ashlea Baker and Lewis form TC’s most formidable doubles team and will compete in the No. 1 flight, with a top-eight seed possible if not likely. The Lady Leopards’ other doubles duos are Armenta and Hall at No. 2 and Foster and Jessica Phelps at No. 3.
King said forecast for the Arizona desert calls for high temperatures in the low- to high 90s, with much drier air than TC deals with at home.
Temple’s men’s team, ranked No. 11 in the country, will compete in the NJCAA Tournament in Plano beginning May 10.
