The Sandspur

Issue date: 10/7/05 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy of RCSID Tasi Purcell

Media Credit: Courtesy of RCSID Marnie Mahler

For the week of Sept. 26, the athlete of the week award was split between two very deserving ladies. Both Marnie Mahler and Tasi Purcell won the honor based on their performance in the recent regional tournaments.

The ladies ended up placing second after upsetting first ranked Lynn 8-5. The Rollins duet however lost a hard fought battle to Barry. The team of Mahler and Purcell are currently ranked sixth in the nation for doubles.

Mahler, an All American last year, and Purcell have been playing as a doubles team since last spring. Their record together last year was a very impressive 23-1. Both ladies are excellent tennis players and are the team to watch this year. The next possible place to watch these two in action is the C.L. Varner Invitational on Oct. 7-9 here at Rollins College. Shortly after that, the women's tennis team will conclude their season by playing in the ITA Small College Championships in Ft. Myeres, Florida on Oct. 13-16.

Marnie Mahler, a co-captain of the team, is a sophomore currently studying political science. Mahler was originally born in Germany and lived there for 12 years. While not attending Rollins College, Malher calls Naples, Florida, home as she has lived there for the past 8 years. Mahler started playing tennis when she was three.

When asked what she wished to do with tennis outside of college Mahler replied, "I think after college I'm just going to take it easy and coach tennis. Maybe I'll play some pro tournaments or something. I will always be involved with tennis though."

Purcell is currently a junior majoring in Economics. She originally hails from Orlando Florida. Before attending Rollins College, Purcell went to local Dr. Phillips High School.

This year the Rollins Women's Tennis team looks very strong. Mahler has already won the Florida Southern Tournament this year and she and Purcell did well in the recent regional tournament.

When asked how she thought the team looked this year Mahler said, "The team this year gets along really great. We have a lot of talent on the team and I think if we work hard and fight, we can go a long way."

It looks that this season could very well shape up to be a great one for women's tennis. The sky seems to be the limit to which this team can travel. Hopefully we can all enjoy a winning season from our Tars out on the tennis courts.

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