Collin College Tennis kicked off its season with three tough university teams coming to the Plano Campus. Coach Jamie Nanez said he liked the energy he saw in his players and has some thoughts on how to capitalize on their doubles play going forward.

"The players were ready to start competing," Nanez said. "I think that having to wait in the fall (because of a late start), they were exploding with energy to start playing."

He wants to maintain the energy throughout the season.

Nanez said his sophomore players stepped up in their matches, showing their competitiveness in both singles and double. While the final scores did not always reflect it, the team took away some good experience.

The women's team won their opening match of the season 4-3 against The University of Texas at Permian Basin (UTPB). The team's top three each won their matches and they swept in doubles. Larissa Giraldi Correa was the deciding match.

The men's team's match against UTPB was a 5-4 loss, but Nanez saw some success from Joseph Restrepo and Seth Seely. Restrepo is a returning sophomore who didn't play much last year but is improving. Seely is one of the team's top players and had some success.

"As we get into the season, I think we can turn that 4-5 loss into a 5-4 win," Nanez said. "Out of our six singles, if one more person does just a little bit better, I think we can compete."

The men's team lost the same day to The University of the Incarnate Word, a National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 school. While Nanez said he did not expect a W out of that match, he thought it was good for his players to see what it takes to play at such a high level. He said setting that in their minds will help prepare them for nationals in May.

"The ball moves faster. The game moves faster. You have to make decisions quicker. I think just seeing that will help our guys," Nanez said.

The following day, the men's and women's teams faced The University of Texas at Tyler. Wet courts caused a delay which, combined with a week off due to icy conditions, sapped the teams' energy a bit. The women's team lost 6-1, and the men's team lost 5-2.

Nanez said Katie Orlova is off to a great start to the season and won all four of her matches against UTPB and UTT. 

"She and Viktoriia look to be a really great doubles team," Nanez said. "These were their first matches together, and I definitely think they could do well all season."

Nanez also saw some bright spots in men's doubles play, which the team is still fine-tuning.

The team tried a new pair in the No. 1 spot. Restrepo and Luis Ching found a rhythm despite being "thrown into the fire" of not playing together before. 

"They were very competitive," Nanez said. "I felt like the energy was very good."

Nanez also liked what he saw from the No. 2 pairing of Seely and Djordje Kurcubic and the No. 3 team of Lopez and Tristan Scatterregia.

Nanez said the college has a chance to make its mark in doubles play. While singles play is a crowded field, doubles is slightly less so. He does not think teams focus on that as much.

"We've been working on a doubles since my time here (as an assistant coach)," Nanez said. "I think that may be our ticket to a better showing than what is expected of us at the national level.

"I think we could surprise some people in terms of where we finish."