Husson, Thomas among top North Atlantic Conference women’s tennis teams

OLD TOWN, Maine (WABI) - Two of the top three NAC women’s tennis preseason coaches’ poll teams are from Central Maine.

Husson’s No. 1.

“We practice really hard. We focus a lot on our strategy and how we hit the ball vs. winning. We’re not really focused on winning. That’s just kind of the extra, and we all try and be really positive and things like that help us a lot,” said Emily Doten, senior.

The Thomas Terriers sit at third.

“I think we’ve come back with a lot of strong players. We’ve definitely improved with practice this year. We’ve stepped up a new game, and we put a lot of work in,” said Lauren Smith, senior.

These conference rivals include players enjoying the game at the college level.

“We all just kind of flow nicely. We all encourage each other. I love this sport. It’s a lifelong sport,” said Doten.

“My game has definitely expanded a lot after high school, as have all the other players. Working as a team, we’ve been together with the same players for a few years. We just get stronger every year. Being picked third motivates us more to want that, get to the NAC, and get that title,” said Smith.

The Eagles and Terriers figure to be in the conference race at the end of the season.

Husson won the match over Thomas, 7-2.

Copyright 2023 WABI. All rights reserved.