BOONE, N.C. – Women's tennis coach
Blake Mosley arrived at Appalachian State in 2016 with one purpose: change the culture of the program.
After a transition year in 2016-17, App State's team is in the midst of a significant turnaround. The Mountaineers started this season 10-5, winning seven of eight matches from mid-February to mid-March.
App State won 54 of the 63 contested singles and doubles matches within the seven team victories during that stretch.
"It started in the fall with just watching them practice, and after a few of the fall tournaments, we saw where everyone was going to set up," Mosley said. "It's great having our players that were playing (Nos.) 1 and 2 last year, and now they're (Nos.) 4 and 5 in the lineup. That helped our depth."
When Mosley accepted the job, Appalachian State had just finished its third straight season with less than 10 wins.
Following a five-win season in 2017, Mosley faced the challenge of rebuilding his roster with three seniors departing. With only six players on the active roster, Mosley focused heavily on recruiting in the offseason.
The result was a signing class of five freshmen –
Sandra Anglesjö,
Kate Earnhardt,
Emily Gaskins,
María José Zacarias and
Teodora Sevo. Three of the freshmen arrived from outside of the United States, highlighting Mosley's international connections from being a former professional player.
"He contacted me, and I started to talk with him, and he helped me with a lot of things," Zacarias said. "When I came for my visit, I really liked the place."
App State's 10-5 start to this season included a 6-1 record against in-state opponents. The Mountaineers have defeated UNCW, Charlotte, Campbell, UNC Asheville, North Carolina Central and UNCG during this year's campaign.
Its lone in-state defeat came to NC State, which is currently No. 42 in the nation according to the Oracle/ITA Women's National Team Rankings.
In late February, the Mountaineers cracked the top 100 in the ITA rankings, moving to No. 90 after a win over College of Charleston. It was the first time Appalachian had made its way into the top 100 since 2013.
"It's huge as far as for recruiting to let the up-and-coming student-athletes know that we've made a big change in the program and that there are other options besides Duke, Wake Forest and UNC," Mosley said. "That should help us a ton with recruiting local players."
Zacarias and Sevo have occupied either the No. 1 or No. 2 spot in the singles lineup from this season's first serve.
In doubles, Anglesjö and Gaskins have been paired together from the season's start, earning a notable victory in their conference matchup against Coastal Carolina.
The contributions from the App State freshmen have been apparent, but the team's upperclassmen have also elevated their level of play. Junior
Heidi Swope and senior
Melissa Machado represent two of the five upperclassmen on the roster.
The doubles pairing of Machado and Sevo has dominated many of its opponents, recording a team-best 11-4 record. The No. 1 pairing of Swope and Zacarias follows closely behind at 10-4, highlighting another mix of freshman and veteran talent.
"He doesn't expect us to be perfect, but he wants us to come as close to it as we can," Machado said of Mosley. "As long as we're putting in 100-percent effort, that's all he cares about."
App State dropped a pair of close matches against conference foes Georgia State and Coastal Carolina over the weekend. Even with the losses, the Mountaineers have a 55-41 record in singles and 31-14 record in doubles through 17 matches.
The Mountaineers have a week off before hosting Gardner-Webb (2-10) on Monday at 2 p.m.
