Lady Frogs host North Texas today

Women’s tennis head coach Dave Borelli said he was optimistic about the team’s continuous improvement as it prepared for its match against the University of North Texas on Thursday.

“I know we’re going to be good,” he said. “If I think that and the kids believe that, that’s all that matters.”

North Texas was short-handed earlier in the season, but it has recovered injured players and is back at full-strength, Borelli said.

Even with the game being moved from Wednesday to Thursday because of cooler weather, he said the team was prepared to take on a challenge.

“The team has a tough task ahead,” Borelli said. “But the weather is going to be better, and we’ll get to play a good match on Thursday.”

The team did not play to their full potential against No. 5 Baylor last week, Borelli said.

The Horned Frogs lost their first match of the season 6-1, missing the double point they should have won, he said.

But it was early in the year, he said. Baylor was the toughest team they would play all year with three of their seniors having, at one time or another, qualified for the top 10 in the nation.

“We’re a young team in tennis experience. So I have to keep that in mind,” Borelli said. “I always have teams that improve. I feel like that’s the strength of our program — kids get better.”

The team is resilient and by conference time it is going to be very tough, he said.

With his eyes set on the NCAA Sweet 16 and the end of the season, Borelli said results were not important right now. It is what the team learns and how it improves that will carry it out of the Mountain West and into the Big 12 with a bang, he said.

The No. 47 Horned Frogs are tied for third place in the Mountain West with Boise State.

“I want to go out saying the best program in women’s tennis left the Mountain West,” Borelli said.