With the CLC Women’s Tennis team beating all competition at the NJCAA Region 4 Tournament this fall, they are now qualified to compete in the NJCAA Division 1 Tennis National Tournament. The tournament will be held on May 7-11, 2022, in Tucson, Arizona.

The team steamrolled their way throughout the regular season, possessing an undefeated record against other two-year colleges. In the Region 4 Tournament earlier this month, the Lancers held a comfortable first-place lead over other competitors.

Despite these victories, the Women’s Tennis team still has to prepare for their Division 1 National Tournament hosted in the spring. Anjie Rodriguez, who was the Regional Champion at #6 singles, discussed some of the team’s challenges and how they will overcome them in the spring.

“The team definitely had its setbacks as there was a time period in which we were not able to practice for two months,” said Rodriguez regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. “I believe that made us work harder. We continue to follow guidelines by making sure that we wear our masks and dedicate ourselves to being healthy.”

COVID-19 has become an immediate problem for collegiate sports, with many sports programs across the country pausing or postponing until further notice. Thankfully, the Lancers get to continue towards the national tournament.

Thus, the Women’s Tennis team will “continue to work on the basics of tennis and find different forms of strategy that will improve [our] game,” said Rodriguez. “All of us will continue to stay healthy and go to practices, but more importantly, we need to work as a team to make sure we are all successful by the time we go to Arizona.”

The CLC Women’s tennis team also won the Region 4 Tournament a few years ago in 2018. Many CLC students, faculty, and community members are excited to see the team at the top once again.