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April 5, 2007
Virginiasports.com caught up with sophomore tennis player Amanda Rales for a question and answer session. She talked about her role on the team, her improvement from last year, and the team’s upcoming four-match homestand.
The team has finished its road portion of the schedule and will now conclude the regular season with four consecutive home matches. What does it mean to the team to end the season with a long homestand?
AR: There is definitely an advantage to playing on your home courts. You are used to the courts, having played on them every day, and you have your fans. It is really important for the team to keep focused on not letting that advantage be an excuse for us to relax. These matches are really important for us and could really help going into the ACC Tournament.
After starting off the season just in the doubles lineup, you have moved into the singles lineup and succeeded with a 9-2 dual match record. How do think your role on the team has changed as the season has progressed.
AR: This year I made a point to take more of a leadership role. We have a really young team with only Caroline Hammond as a senior and Lindsey Pereira as a junior. Of course, you don’t always have to be on the court playing to be a leader, but it definitely helps to lead by example. I guess in that sense, being on the court and winning, I hope can set an example that it doesn’t matter where you are in the lineup, you can improve your game and make an impact.
Last year you were the only first-year in the lineup that had three seniors. This season, you are one of only a few veterans. How has that been different for you?
AR: Last year I definitely sat back and let things take their course. I followed the example of others. While there are definitely a lot of girls on the team with a ton of talent playing above me in the lineup, I don’t think that should make a difference on who is leading on and off the court. It is a matter of choosing to be a leader. So I think my role has changed in the sense that last year I was just playing and watching things go and this year I am trying to make a difference for my teammates on and off the court.
What was the biggest thing you learned from those seniors last year?
AR: I think the biggest piece of advice was just the work ethic day-in and day-out. That was something we did really well last year. Every day we played like it was our last day. We had very intense practices and that showed on the court. I think we best we can do is practice just as hard as you are going to play in the match.
What do you think is the team’s key to success as the regular season winds down and you head into the ACC Tournament?
AR: I think the team needs to keep in perspective what is coming up. We have some matches this week that we will be the favorites in from a rankings standpoint. But, we have to bring our game to beat those teams. We have had a lot of close matches with tough teams, and earlier in the year we didn’t come out on top. If we play at the level of competing at, we are going to win these matches and we will have that momentum heading into the ACC Tournament. That will give us the confidence we need as we play teams that are higher than us in the rankings later in the season.
Rales and the Cavaliers host a pair of ACC foes this weekend at the Snyder Tennis Center. Virginia will meet Maryland on Saturday and Boston College on Sunday. Both matches are slated for noon.