By Michael Liuzza
NORTON, Mass. - It proved to be quite a successful fall tennis season for the Wheaton women’s tennis team.
With a narrow 5-4 victory over Wellesley, Wheaton earned the New England Women and Men’s Athletic Conference championship.
The Lyons finished the fall season at 13-2, and are currently ranked 12th in the region.
Longtime coach Lynn Miller (Franklin, Mass.) has been at the Wheaton helm for 30 years. Miller, who also coaches the men’s team, has over 300 victories with the women’s program.
In addition, Miller was awarded NEWMAC Coach of the Year this fall. This marked her third time receiving this honor (1989, 2003).
Miller credits her kids with this year’s success.
"Sometimes kids talk about getting better, but they don’t do anything about it," said Miller. "Most of these particular kids worked on their games all summer long. They followed the program, and it paid off for us."
Perhaps one of the many reasons for Wheaton’s overall success is the fact that four of the starting six players have high-level junior tennis experience.
Miller herself is a USTA member, who is ranked in the 50s and 55s.
"The biggest thing I see from the USTA players is they are mentally tough," said the coach. "They’ve been exposed to more pressure of competition. They’ve already learned strategies on how to compete."
Five of Wheaton’s players were recently selected to the NEWMAC All-League team. That number is a new school record. Of those five players, four have at some point in time been involved with USTA New England.
One of the active USTA junior development graduates on the Wheaton roster is Catherine Teague (Manchester, N.H).
Teague, a junior, recently earned NEWMAC All-League honors for her play in singles and doubles action.
"Catherine loves the game, and she loves to compete," said Miller. "She has great fundamentals, and is one of the best doubles players I’ve had. I’m real pleased with her."
Another veteran of the USTA junior program is Allesandra Diorio (Cumberland, R.I.).
DiOrio, a sophomore, earned NEWMAC All-League honors for her singles play.
"Allesandra has done really well for us," said Miller. "She is quiet and petite, but she is a grinder who makes you hit the ball. She is a great baseline player."
Wheaton junior Elly Van Faasen (Manchester, Mass.) also came through the USTA player development pipeline.
Van Faasen was named to the NEWMAC All-League squad for doubles.
"Elly is lefty," said Miller. "She has done a lot of Jr. Leagues, and she has really improved."
The fourth member of the Wheaton squad with USTA experience is sophomore Roz Chesky (South Hadley, Mass.).
Much like teammate Teague, Chesky was selected to the NEWMAC All-League team for singles and doubles plays.
"Roz is the most natural player I have on the team," said the coach. "She loves to come to the net, drop-volley, slice and hit with topspin."
By winning the league championship, Wheaton will have the opportunity to compete in the NCAA tournament in May.