ORLANDO, Fla. -- For the first time since the 2000-01 season, Bates legend Paul Gastonguay '89 is not coaching both the women's and men's tennis teams. This year, Gastonguay is just coaching the men's program, and last fall Bates hired Deepak Sharma as the women's team's new head coach. After a promising fall, Bates women's tennis heads into the spring season with a lot of momentum. The action begins this Thursday in Florida when the Bobcats take on NCAA Division II opponents Saint Leo University and Rollins College on the USTA National Campus.

Bates is already 1-0 under Sharma, having beaten Nichols College 5-2 in October. They also experienced some highlights at a couple of tournaments, with seniors Ava Lyon (Naples, Fla.) and Olivia Gidlow (Cleveland, Ohio) returning to Bates with some hardware after capturing the B Flight consolation bracket championship at the New England Women's Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament. Sophomore Iris Westmoreland (New Orleans, La.) was impressive at the ITA New England Regional Championship, advancing to the round of 32 in the "A" singles draw.

Sharma and the Bobcats are excited for their early spring matches in Florida before the team's home opener on Sunday, March 2 against Wellesley at 1 p.m. in Merrill Gym.

"I want to see our players go out there and play aggressively," Sharma said. "Being dynamic and communicative in doubles is what we're looking for from them. Translate what we've been doing in practice to matches."

Lyon and senior Lizzie Frekko (Lake Forest, Ill.) are the team's captains this year.

"Everyone is uplifted by Ava's spirit, and her on-court presence is something you can feel," Sharma said. "And Lizzie is such a great competitor. She's highly respected by myself and her teammates, an unbelievable ambassador for Bates College. The combination of those two as leaders has just been remarkable."

The Bobcats boast a fair amount of experience, with junior Isabella Saul (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior Drew Williams (Guilford, Conn.) joining Lyon, Frekko, Gidlow, and Westmoreland as impact returnees who have played a lot of tennis during their times as Bobcats. The team is battling a few injuries right now, so everyone who's healthy on the 10-woman roster will play in Florida. 

"To get the experience of traveling to Florida for seven days and getting practices in, along with matches against high-quality teams, is a great opportunity we provide to our student-athletes," Sharma said. "I want them to realize how good they are, and to believe in their abilities. They deserve to play schools like this, and they deserve to beat teams like this."