Sophomore seeks return to freshman form

Recruited last year from sunny Miami, Manuela Marin-Salcedo entered this year with a promising freshman record. Finishing with a combined 9-7 record in primary and secondary singles, she also showed skill in doubles, finishing 9-9 in number one doubles with her partner Maria Barousse.

Her first victory occurred against Mercyhurst on Oct. 5. In singles, she hammered out a 6-2, 6-2 win in straight sets against the Lakers, followed by an 8-1 doubles victory with Barousse. Carrying that momentum to Niagara a week later, she gained the flight B singles title with a 6-3, 6-4 win.

In spring play, she gutted out a three-setter against Cleveland State winning a singles match 6-4, 1-6, 10-7 and gaining the only point of the day for the Bonnies. She did the same again March 1 against Xavier with a 7-5, 3-6, 10-8 win.

Her prowess and discipline elevated her to the top of the team, something coach Michael Bates hoped would happen.

"I knew coming in that she'd make a pretty good player, and we were hoping she would play at the top of her line-up. It worked out well for us because she's such a competitor and an unspoken leader out there on the court," Bates said. "You always want your number one to be the leader, and she's very capable of doing that."

Marin-Salcedo displayed a similar confidence and humility towards her rise.

"I've been playing tennis for a while," she said. "It was my life, and then last year it was my life, too. So it wasn't really any different. It was hard to adjust to college matches and being on a team again, but it's been fun."

Years of practice underlie this buoyancy. She began lessons at age six when her mother funded tennis lessons for her and her siblings. At age 12, Marin-Salcedo had to choose to stay with tennis or pick another sport.

"I chose tennis," said Marin-Salcedo. "At the time it seemed nicer because it was more of an individual thing. And that may seem selfish, but I just liked the feeling that I had to depend upon myself."

With that individual rigor, she gained the skills necessary to play collegiate tennis, but joining the Brown and White, she found a different philosophy entirely.

"In college, it's a team sport," said Marin-Salcedo, "and I really like that part, too, because I have other people. It's basically a family."

As the team begins its fall season, Marin-Salcedo shows a palpable pride and optimism for this "family."

"I love my team this year," she said. "This year we have girls who really want to work, and I mean, they are just happy people, so it's a lot of fun to be around them. Most of them are always smiling"

After a mixed debut the first day at the Cornell invite on Sept. 13, the team, including Marin-Salcedo, faced a solid line of defeats. They were unable to recover at the Eastern Invitational at West Point Sept. 26 and 27, facing a similar line of losses.

Despite these defeats, Marin-Salcedo notices improvement in the freshmen.

"The freshmen are learning a lot," she said. "It's been rough because we've had to play a couple tough matches, but they're learning a lot."

A torn muscle in her shoulder and a sprained ankle has kept Marin-Salcedo out for the past two weeks, making it difficult to gauge were she stands this year. With a 1-1 first singles record so far from the September Tournament at Cornell, she truly has not had enough playing time.

"She had gone to Oxford this summer for the summer program over there, so she didn't play as much tennis as she wanted to," Bates said. "She was working her way back in before the injuries."

Nevertheless, the injury is not permanent.

"Hopefully, the other girls can push her, and she can get a tougher practice, tougher workout and make her even stronger and better than she was last year," Bates said.

Bates also considers the team's state in the long term.

"The fall season doesn't really mean that much . But we look to do well in the spring. That's where the main focus is. Hopefully we'll have a good year. Hopefully, we can surprise a few teams here and there. We still have a long way to go, but we want to keep improving individually and as a team every match."

Uncertain if she will play in this weekend's tournament, Marin-Salcedo still supports her team.

"Last year we did really well," she said. "It should be fun. The team already has two tournaments behind them, so hopefully they'll keep it up."

The women's tennis team travels to Lewiston, N.Y. this weekend for the Niagara Tournament.