The University of New Haven tennis team had a solid season in and out of conference. The Chargers had a lot of high points even though they didn’t finish with a winning record on the season. This team has showed a lot of improvement given the fact that they have struggled the last couple seasons. They were able to finish eighth in the conference, which was a major step up from last year’s 11th place finish the NE-10. Multiple players really stepped up for the team this season and it showed on the court.

One of the biggest contributors was freshman Stephanie Gonzalez. She became the first ever women’s tennis player to win the NE-10 Rookie of the Year. Her record this season was 8-6 and she was the team’s number one singles player. Gonzalez was also on the number one doubles team which finished with a 5-6 record on the season. The Chargers won 3 out of their last 4 matches, in which Gonzalez won 6 out of the 8 games she played.

She is also a solid teammate in practice, as her teammate Caitlyn Burridge said that “it was really fun to play with her at practice and she’s a great teammate.”

Burridge also said that “(Gonzalez) fights for every point she is great to watch in every match, the award is well deserved.”

That wasn’t the only positive thing that came out of the Chargers’ season as they had their most wins since 2013. This Chargers team was only two games out of the playoffs in the NE-10. Even though they struggled out of the gate, losing five of their first six matches, they definitely finished strong by winning three out of their last four games. The Chargers also had a winning record finishing 4-3 and had their first shutout for the first time in two years.

The number two singles player, freshman Lilia Rodriguez, also had a successful season as she finished 5-7 in the conference. She also played on the number one doubles team with Gonzalez. Between Gonzalez and Rodriguez, the Chargers tennis team has a bright future ahead of them. The roster is still young as they didn’t have any seniors this year graduating from the team.

Hopefully, the Chargers can build on their solid performances from this year and make it to the playoffs in the NE-10 next year.