Marrit Boonstra is new to the ITA Grand Slam, but she's made herself right at home.
She started slow, but on courts dominated by speed at the Boar's Head Sports Club in Charlottesville, Va., she was able to down No. 65 Bojana Bobusic of Cal 6-4, 6-1 in the first round of the ITA National Indoor Championships.
No. 67 Boonstra was nervous at the start of the match, but built confidence after breaking Bobusic's serve to take the first set. She shed the butterflies and adjusted to the speed of the courts in the second set.
"(Boonstra) played really well at the end of the first set when nerves were in play," coach Roland Thornqvist said. "She had to compete to win and she's very good at that."
The second set reflected the style of indoor play, with the now-calm Gator able to jump to a 5-0 lead within 25 minutes.
After winning the first round match, Boonstra rested a little before going back to the courts Thursday night to tweak the errors she committed against Bobusic. Boonstra had trouble reacting to the fast courts and was behind on her forehand so the UF staff worked on moving her contact point out.
Thornqvist hopes his player was able to absorb the adjustments because she will play No. 6 Maria Mosolova of Northwestern today. Mosolova was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and was an ITA All-American last year.
"She's a Russian, so she's got a good backhand, moves well, fights and she can play very well from the baseline," Thornqvist said. "If there's one Achilles heel, it's at the net so we'll keep that in mind."
