The team failed to make the playoffs, which was not how senior Co-Captain Jenny Barr said she wanted to end her third and final season on the team.,”The Emerson College women's tennis team ended its season 4-6, finishing in seventh place in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).

The team failed to make the playoffs, which was not how senior Co-Captain Jenny Barr said she wanted to end her third and final season on the team.

"It was certainly not the way I wanted to go out as a senior," Barr said. "The program isn't that strong."

Head Coach Gary Chafetz said despite not making the playoffs, he had a good team. The problem was most of the squad did not attend the games because of scheduling conflicts with classes.

"Our team was much better then our record indicated," Chafetz said. "Had we had all our players we'd be in fifth [place in the GNAC]."

Barr agreed, noting that attendance was one of the major problems for the team.

"There's not enough girls dedicated to the sport," Barr said. "The few that we had were dedicated, but we wanted more. I'm disappointed because I know we had the talent to compete."

Chafetz said the attendance issue will be taken care of next season. Team members will receive their match schedules in March from the conference, so they will be able to plan their class schedules around competitions.

Absence from class is considered excused if a student is participating in athletics, according to Assistant Athletic Director Stan Nance. He said it is ultimately the professor's decision, however, whether or not a student can miss class to participate in any game.

"The kids can schedule classes accordingly [next year]," Chafetz said. "A lot of kids had classes and tough professors. Oftentimes we had four kids [play and] we would default four matches."

Starting many matches in a hole was what made this season difficult, Chafetz said. But, he said the way the players handled the situation is what he liked the most about the team.

"I have a great group of players," Chafetz said. "They weathered the scheduling crisis with humor [and] healthy resignation."

Chafetz is still optimistic about next season. He said he has contacted some high school players and believes his squad will win more matches next year.

According to Chafetz, the goal is for the team to finish either in third or fourth place in the GNAC next year.

Barr agreed there are a lot of players with ability at Emerson.

"There's still a lot of talent on the team," she said. "I know there are girls who play tennis at Emerson. If we combine them with the players we have now, we would have a good program."

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