14 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, August 14, 2006


-SPORTS-



Ashley added to staff,
hopes to help bring
Netters to next level

By Kevin Wallace
For the Daily
The Michigan women's tennis team has
once again added youth to its roster. But
this time, it's in the coaching department.
After employing first-year coach Aman-
la Augustus on July 6th, the Wolverines
recently announced the hiring of assistant
coach Teryn Ashley.
As a member of the Stanford women's
tennis team, she had many battles with
Augustus, who played for rival Cal.
Ashley said she was added to the ten-
nis staff because Augustus remembered
her from college and thought their tennis
philosophies were similar.
While Augustus hasn't laid out any spe-
cific plans for Ashley yet, she is expected
to concentrate on doubles play - not only
because of her past success at playing
doubles but because of the team's success
in that department as well.
Ashley also wants to stress to her play-
ers how important preparation is to ten-
nis.
Just a month away from the start of the
season, Ashley has already been in Cali-
fornia on a recruiting trip.
Ashley is on her way to working her way
up the ranks of coaching in college tennis.
At Stanford, she was the team representa-
tive for the Stanford Cardinal Council, a
group designed to connect Stanford ath-
letics with the local community.
"While being on the Stanford Council
was a good experience, what will really

help me with coaching was my experience
being a captain," Ashley said. "It helped
(me) learn how to motivate others and be
better prepared for matches."
She later served as a volunteer assis-
tant coach at Boston College. She had
been away from college tennis for a while
(playing on the WTA Tour), and this accli-
mated her to the atmosphere and style of
college tennis once again.
Ashley always knew when her play-
ing career ended that she wanted to be a
coach; she just had no idea it would be at
Michigan. It's clear why she is so excited
about becoming a part of the Wolverine
program, though, moving from a Top 70
program to one that, in her mind, is just
outside of the Top 20.
Asked what is reasonably expected
from the team this year, Ashley really
doesn't know, having just met two incom-
ing freshman. She said that once she meets
everybody in about a month, she can get
a better grasp, but there is no reason to
think the tennis program can't break into
the Top 20 and acquire further national
recognition.
Michigan proved it could beat up on less-
er competition last year, going a remark-
able 16-3 against unranked teams. On the
flip side, the Wolverines also showed they
weren't quite ready to compete among the
elite of college tennis, posting a dismal 1-
6 record against ranked competition.
What could prove to be just as exciting as
watching the team improve is to see how the
coaches themselves develop at Michigan.

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Senior Kara Delicata will be one of the key returning players for the women's tennis team

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