Photo courtesy of goxavier.com | Freshman Anna Letto has already had an auspicious start in her first season playing collegiate tennis. She talks about how her strengths include her backhand and how she feels the transition to college has gone.
When Xavier women’s tennis opened play at the 2018 Greater Cincinnati Invitational, held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, Anna Letto — a freshman from Shorewood, Minn., — was in the first flight for the Musketeers.
“I didn’t know I was first flight,” Letto said, “until I looked at the draws and I was like ‘oh.’’
Letto didn’t let the pressure get to her, however, picking up a two-set win over Wofford’s Cassidy Hicks and a three-set win over Laura Bernardos from Western Kentucky.
“Going into it, if I did know (I was first flight) maybe there’s a little extra pressure, but it’s also kind of exciting, being a freshman and having your coach be like ‘oh, you’re in first flight your first tournament,’ so that’s fun,” Letto said.
Xavier finished the Greater Cincinnati Open with 11 singles wins as a team in addition to three doubles wins.
Letto, who said her backhand was “definitely” the strongest part of her game, was a four-star recruit in high school while playing at the Van Der Meer Tennis Academy in Hilton Head, S.C., before signing with Xavier.
“The competitiveness is different,” Letto said about the transition from high school to college tennis. “I mean, it’s fun being able to have the team support you and the team screaming and you’re able to yell, and the girls are more intense. Just all around it’s more competitive.”
“We are so happy with the start Anna has had. Her first match, she played Wofford’s No. 1, who is a senior, and she won 6-3, 6-1,” head coach Doug Matthews said about Letto’s start to the season. “That is really impressive. I’m excited to see her and the rest of the team compete this weekend at Purdue.”
Xavier women’s tennis continues its season this weekend at the Purdue Invitational, which will be held at the Schwartz Tennis Center in West Lafayette, Ind.
Following that tournament, the team will head to the ITA Ohio Valley Regionals hosted by the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga from Oct. 11-15.
Letto looks to continue the success she had in her first tournament.
“(It) definitely gave me some confidence, confidence going in like ‘oh, even though you are a freshman you could still go forward and do well this year,’” she said.
If her first tournament was any indication, Letto and the rest of the team will have plenty of success in 2018-19 — adding to the successes of last season, which included 13 wins and an undefeated home record.
By: Joe Clark | Guest Writer