Tennis on the Up Swing

   Each year the top four teams in the conference compete in the Northwest Conference tournament, and last year Pacific made their way in for the first time. “Last year we took second and made Pacific history,” head coach of the women’s tennis team Traci Binder explained. 

   Specifically: Last year, Pacific beat George Fox in the semifinal, but fell to Whitman in the final. This year? The plan is to return to the Northwest Conference tournament—but this time to win outright—and so far, it is lining up for a good chance to do just that.

   Going into the season this year, the women’s team saw a few changes, but nevertheless have remained strong. “We lost Sydney Binder (who graduated), which is sad because she was an important player to the team,” Coach Binder explained. “On the bright side we gained a lot of depth within the team with the new players we added.” 

   The team currently remains strong, but are experiencing injuries that have caused some concern. Leader of the team and fifth year athlete, Cassidy Binder, shares how her doubles partner, sophomore Stella Nishimura, has been one of the athletes on the team setback from injury. Last season, Binder was partnered up with her sister Sydney Binder, and together they were the powerhouses of the conference in doubles. This year, Cassidy Binder and her new partner Nisimura hold the same level of dominant competition. Binder and Nishimura attended the 2024 ITA Northwest Regional Cup in the fall, and finished out the tournament as champions. Binder also took first place herself as the singles champion. 

   Binder’s last season being a Boxer is bittersweet. She is without her sister this year, but still has big plans for her remaining months here. “At the beginning, I was super ambitious,” Binder explained. “I want to win the conference and go to nationals with my team, but for myself I also want to go to nationals and I am not sure if I can deal with the injuries I am dealing with.” 

   Binder has been struggling with her own injuries, but continues to battle through. The uncertainties of what she is able to do on the court has been a tough challenge to deal with, but she pushes through with hopes for what’s yet to come. Her journey at Pacific has been a long and joyful, yet bumpy ride. Coming into Pacific, she was already faced with a challenge because of Covid, but her sister and her mother (Coach Binder) kept her going. After pushing through the frustrating years of Covid, Binder finally was able to play the sport she loves and dominate the court. During her last year here she wanted to help build the program. “We are at a place where we have a good foundation and [hope] that it continues to grow,” Binder said eagerly. 

    Moving into the spring season, one of the biggest strengths that the team boasts is their strong team culture and individual talent out on the court. “This year especially we are all very close,” Binder explained. “We have a lot of diversity on our team. It helps us because we all come from different places and it brings us closer together. From this we utilize taking different things from where we come from and bring it to the whole team.” The team is small in numbers with only nine players on the squad. “We like to say that we are small but mighty,” Binder added.

   The team constantly plays one another during their practices which makes the team competitive amongst themselves. They have always been a smaller team, but that hasn’t stopped them from being one of the top competitors in the conference. “We have people who want to be here, and I feel that. Everyday in practice I feel that,” Binder said. Everyday is one step closer to their goal of becoming champions. The team is “small but mighty” and continues to prove that out on the court. 

This story was originally published in the Pacific Index, Pacific University's student newspaper. Used with permission.