KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's tennis team finally gets its season underway on Saturday, hosting Ferris State for a double-header at the West Hills Athletic Club beginning at 1 p.m.
 
WMU was previously scheduled to open the season last week at Northern Iowa but the match was postponed due to COVID issues with the Panthers program.
 
Please note that due to Michigan Department of Health and Human Services regulations, no spectators will be allowed. Follow @WMUWomensTennis on Twitter for live updates and scoring.
 
The Broncos return everyone from last year's roster other than senior Gabriela Slavova. The team was 6-6 on the season before the rest, including MAC play, was canceled due to COVID-19.
 
With WMU's last meaningful competition coming in March of 2020, the onus was on head coach Ryan Tomlinson to navigate through all of the hoops to keep the team's competitive spirit up. 
 
"The competition piece has to be brought out in practice, not only through matches with ourselves but with within drills," said Tomlinson. "We've done a lot of learning over the past several months. I think the idea of getting to finally compete again has kept this team driven and focused on getting better."
 
Along with the inability to compete, the social distancing restrictions placed on the team has also been difficult.
 
"The one thing that has been most difficult would be the team activities that usually take place," explained Tomlinson. "Dinners, hanging out as a large group, team-building outside of practice, and in-person team meetings have all been missed."
 
All the waiting, sacrificing and testing will come to a release on Saturday afternoon.
 
"I'm not going to lie, I can't wait to get back to competing with this group," added Tomlinson. "They deserve a chance to play. They worked hard during these challenging times and appreciate everything that everyone around them has done to give them this opportunity."