Andrew J. Ferraro
Staff Writer
For University of Houston senior tennis player Susanne Andersson, the last four years could be described as anything but uneventful.
From being selected as the team's Most Valuable Player as a freshman in 1994 and again in 1996, to helping her team win this year's Conference USA Championship, there was always something going on for Susanne and the team. There was always something to shoot for, no matter how big or small.
The most exciting part of it all, however, came down to the last three matches of the season. The Cougars came into the C-USA tournament seeded No. 3 and needed one last push to put them where they intended to be - on top.
"We finally won it after working so hard all year for this," Andersson, 22, of Katrineholm, Sweden said. "With all of the injuries and all of the other problems we've had, it was so nice to come together in the end.
"Even though we won the whole thing and it's been four days already, I still cannot express my feelings about it."
The road to the championship was not an easy one for Andersson. Even in the very beginning of her career when she posted a record of 29-8, the Cougars were mediocre at best, winning just five matches that year.
After missing fall 1995 due to injury, Andersson was able to return that spring but finished just two matches over .500 at 11-9.
It was in the fall of 1996 when things began to fall in place and the MVP of two years before truly made her presence known in the first year of competition in C-USA.
After rolling off 15 wins that season, she stayed hot right into
the spring of 1997 and won 36 matches, including doubles play with partners Heather Gibson, Kristen Paris and Mette Sigmundstad.
Last year was supposed to be the year for the Cougars to win their first conference championship, but Marquette had other plans as UH was ousted in the semifinal round.
"Our biggest problem heading into last year is that we hadn't seen any of those teams play before," Andersson explained. "We had no idea who Marquette's players were, and I think we took them a little too lightly".
After the Golden Eagles stole a 5-4 win, the Cougars had to settle for third place and left Tampa, Fla., with more motivation than ever to win a championship.
In the beginning of her senior year, Andersson went right back to work and won 10-of-15 in the fall of 1997. She and teammates Luciane Kelbert and Galina Seliounina won a combined 35 matches in four tournaments and paced the Cougars to a preseason national ranking of 31.
But then the Cougars were hit with the injury bug as Seliounina, freshman Joanna Cunliffe and sophomore Jane Brown all missed matches with various injuries.
Meanwhile, Andersson played in every match this spring, even with a lot of pain in her left wrist at the end of the season.
After losing four of her first five matches, all in the No. 1 singles position, Andersson said that the losing had to come to an end.
"I just told myself that I had had enough, and I just told myself and the rest of the team that I was going to win that day," Andersson said. "It's a lot of fun to look back and see how you can decide the outcome of the match that day."
She defeated Tulsa's Anousjka Van Exel 6-3, 6-0 and was off the court and enjoying her victory in a little under an hour.
After that Andersson won six of her next eight, losing only to two nationally-ranked players: Baylor's Barbara Navarro and Marquette's Elisa Penalvo.
But after turning things around in March, Andersson has now lost seven of her last eight, including all three matches in the C-USA tournament.
Andersson may be down, but by no means is she out. Five of the seven losses have been in three sets and her most recent setback, a 6-2, 2-6, 5-7 defeat to UAB's Mirela Vladulescu, the nations No. 1 player, was perhaps her finest tennis of the year.
"There's probably not a match this year that can top that one," Andersson recalled. "I played the best match of the season that day, but when I was up 5-4 in the third (set) and was winning the game 30-15, I saw the victory.
"That's what blew it."
But no matter. The Cougars won the match 5-2 and the conference by taking all three matches from Southern Miss (5-2), Marquette (5-4) and UAB.
As for Houston, tennis in 1998 is still up in the air. There is a possibility that the Cougars will receive a bid to the NCAA Southwest regionals to be held next month, but the Cougars posted a 5-4 record against Southwest regional foes.
Andersson would love to play another match in a Cougar uniform, but if UH does not get invited to the postseason, then her career here will be over but certainly not forgotten.
Through all of the ups and downs and then back up to the championship, Andersson said she's had fun. There are moments that she'll never forget and memories that she will take with her no matter where life takes her.
One thing is for sure, however. She's learned a valuable lesson about life just by playing for a team that compiled a record of 36-33 in her four years here.
"My four years here have helped me learn to work with other people, something I'll have to do for the rest of my life. That's just something I wouldn't trade for anything."