The Creighton women’s tennis team is led by two experienced seniors this season. Sam Anderson and Karlin Naslund are preparing for their final spring season with lofty goals in mind.
Anderson, a Thompson, North Dakota native, is majoring in business and has played a significant role as a doubles player in tournaments.
“[Anderson] has been an amazing doubles player for us,” coach Tom Lily said. “That is an area where she can provide experience for us — not just in singles but in doubles play. It just adds another dynamic.”
Naslund, a native of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is currently in pharmacy school. She primarily competes in the singles lineup.
“Naslund is a grinder on the singles court,” Lilly said. “She’s always had a really good slice forehand; something that a lot of players
don’t have.”
Lilly says that Anderson and Naslund’s experience is a contributing factor to their success as leaders.
“Because they are seniors, they bring a lot of experience,” Lily said.
“They’ve been through all the fall individual tournaments and spring duals and that is something you just don’t have as a freshman or even a sophomore. Their experience is probably the biggest asset they bring to our team right now.”
From freshman year to now — a few weeks into their final fall season — Anderson and Naslund have seen their roles within in the program change over the course of their careers.
“I see my role as a senior leader as one to help guide the program in the direction I want it to go,” Anderson said. “These past few years we have worked quite a bit on team unity and working as one. We’ve seen great improvements, so I want to ensure we keep improving.”
Naslund believes she can be a leader in all aspects of tennis at the collegiate level.
“As a senior, I want to help lead the team by example; working hard both on the court and in classroom as the preceding seniors on the team did in the past,” Naslund said. “I also think it’s important as seniors that we really show the underclassmen how a college tennis team should support and motivate each other this year so that they can continue to have a successful team in the coming years.”
Lilly said that with experience, comes growth. He also mentioned that he has seen a tremendous amount of growth in both Anderson and Naslund since the beginning of their freshman year.
“I believe both of them came in with a pretty high level of play. They have both improved significantly, but I still think there is room for growth,” Lilly said.
Anderson and Naslund have seen growth in many different areas of their game; both fundamentally and in the mental aspect of the sport.
“My doubles and net play has grown exponentially since my freshman year,” Anderson said. “I’ve been so lucky to have played with amazing doubles partners that fit well with my game.”
Naslund has found different areas of her game improve.
“I’ve seen my game change a lot the last few years,” Naslund said. “My serve has gotten better, which always helps, and tactically, I’m using my variety of shots to my advantage more than I ever have. Both have come with experience. Returning against better players has forced me to add pace and increase my accuracy on my serve, and playing a lot of solid baseline players has forced me to change my strategy.”
Currently, the women’s tennis team has competed in three of four tournaments on its fall schedule with the ITA Central Regional Championships coming up on Oct. 15-19 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Anderson and Naslund are optimistic about what’s ahead for this team and are excited about the new additions.
“I love where the team is now,” Anderson said. “We are all on the same page with the goals we have for ourselves and our team as a whole. We are working as a unit rather than individuals to achieve our goals.”
Naslund mentioned the team’s depth heading into the fall season and during league play in the spring.
“It’s really exciting to have three new freshmen on the team this year that are all great players and excited to compete,” Naslund said. “They definitely add to our depth as a team, and I think we can be stronger this year and look to finish higher in the Big East.”