etermtne Under the direction of Coach David Elliot, the Lady Bisons tennis team's routine practices and endless conditioning ultimately paid off when they ended their season with an 18-7 record overall. The Lady Bisons were the 12th ranked team in the South Region, and they finished off their season with a 9-0 win against Henderson State. After that win, the team advanced to the Gulf South Conference (GSC), bringing with them motivation and determination. Senior Gina Cielo was confident going into the tournament with her teammates. "We went into the conference knowing that we had a good season and a good record, hoping to do better than we had done in the past," Cielo said. Harding played and defeated West Alabama 5-0 in the quarterfinals in the GSC tournament. Since West Alabama was typically known to be a competitive team, even Elliott was uneasy about the matches beforehand and considered the Lady Bisons' victory to be a great accomplishment for the team. "[West Alabama] has traditionally been pretty strong," Elliot said. "They were the No. 2 seed on the other side (GSC East), and we beat them and beat them pretty easily. I was nervous going into that match as far as our chances [of winning] were concerned." With the big win behind them, the team looked forward to the rest of the conference. In the semifinals, the Lady Bisons played West Florida, the No. I seed from the GSC East, and were defeated 5-1. The Bisons did, however, win one doubles match against the team, played by Cielo and junior Chelsea Hunt. "Playing doubles against West Florida, which is one of the best teams in the conference, was a really, really tough match and probably the best we've ever played together," Cielo said. "That was my most memorable experience from last year's GSC conference." Although the tournament was stressful and nerve-wracking for some of the players, they still had a fun and memorable experience. According to the team, supporting each other was the most important factor in their matches, regardless of whether they won or lost. ''I'm always nervous before I play," Hunt said. "You're supporting your school and you're nervous that you're going to do badly, but your teammates are there to give you support, and that's always encouraging." Filled with determination and zeal, the Lady Bisons planned for the next season. They trained and played harder than ever with high hopes for the spring and a win in the Gulf South Conference for Harding. "We will work hard, try to recruit the best players we can find and try to mold them into a team," Elliot said. "We don't have any major changes. We try to do it right, and hopefully we do." Stacy Hall 3 Athletics
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