Tournament at the Net

The Marshall women's tennis team will play in the Conference USA Tournament this weekend in Tulsa, Okla.

The Herd has been on a roll as of late, winning five of its last six matches, including posting 7-0 final scores in its last three. The recent success has given the team confidence and junior Michaela Kissell said the women are playing with the right mindset.

"We are playing with more confidence going into the tournament," Kissell said. "The way we have been playing in our last three matches has really helped our focus."

The team has been putting in a lot of practice, and head coach John Mercer said the team is executing at a high level right now.

"They have been really focused," Mercer said. "They have been executing the things we have been working on in practice and really playing hard."

Marshall heads to Oklahoma with the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. That gives the team a bye in the first round and a matchup with the winner of UTEP and UCF in the second round.

The tennis season is different compared to other sports, in that Marshall has only played one team (Tulsa) from C-USA this season. That means that the Herd won't know what to expect from its opponents, but Kissell said that is a positive for the team.

"I think it's good for us not to know what to expect," Kissell said. "We are going in there fearing no one, but respecting everyone.

"If we go out there and have confidence that we can beat anyone, I know we can do it."

Mercer said the team has been practicing hard and is going into the tournament prepared.

"We pride ourselves in our preparation," Mercer said. "We always look to put in a good effort whoever we are playing. Our effort has been there all season and the team has never given up and never stopped competing."

The conference tournament is really important because just like basketball, the champion of the tournament gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. There are 31 automatic qualifiers from conference tournaments and  33 at-large bids to the highest ranked teams left after the automatic qualifications.

Marshall is currently ranked No. 57, but a good showing will help the Herd's chances at earning an at-large bid for the tennis version of the "Big Dance."

Mercer said the team needs to focus on each match and feels they should be alright.

"Usually the cutoff for making the tournament is being ranked about No. 46 or 47," Mercer said. "If we can get through our first match I think we will be in good shape."

Kissell said making the NCAA Tournament is the only goal the team has set for itself this season.

"That's why we play," Kissell said. "Each day, putting in hours on the court, our only focus has been to make the NCAA Tournament. To be able to go out there and represent our school would be unbelievable."

Troy Hemingway can be contacted at hemingway@marshall.edu.