There is a difference between watching a tennis team play and watching a tennis team practice.
A match shows the finished product. Practice shows the construction.
For Mizzou tennis, that construction is happening in real time.
The Tigers will officially begin the Robin Goodman era Friday at the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska, but the first real glimpse into what this program wants to become came during a practice filled with competition, coaching, yelling, running, high-fives, music and,
perhaps most importantly, constant communication.
The results from a fall tournament will matter eventually.
Right now, Goodman is much more interested in the habits that produce them.
“What we’re hammering home with our girls is competing for every single point no matter what the score is,” Goodman said.
That philosophy showed up everywhere.
The practice was divided into drills designed to test ball control, serving, movement, doubles positioning, reaction training, volleys and overheads. But beneath all of it was a larger theme: Mizzou is trying to create a team that understands that every point, every repetition and every teammate matters.
For a program with one returning player and a roster largely rebuilt from scratch, that might be the most important first step.
Practice is about more than tennis
The first thing that stood out to me on Tuesday afternoon was how little of the practice felt like players simply hitting tennis balls.
Groups were separated into drills centered around ball control. Coaches counted consecutive balls made in a row. They had one-minute windows to complete tasks. Mistakes were limited early, forcing players to focus on consistency before the drills became increasingly competitive.
And the coaches were everywhere.
Manny Raga, Mizzou’s associate head coach, brought a constant smile and positive energy to the court. Bronte Murgett, the assistant coach and former Tiger, was not afraid to jump into drills, hit alongside players and raise the energy level. Goodman moved around the court, analyzing details, challenging players and celebrating successes.
The coaches were not spectators.
They were participants in the culture they were asking their players to create.
“I think the big focus of this session, but all the sessions really, are around team drills,” Goodman said. “Something where one person does something good or bad, it impacts the rest of the team.”
That distinction matters.
College tennis is technically an individual sport during the fall. Players compete in singles and doubles draws, and teammates can eventually find themselves across the net from each other.
But Goodman is trying to establish a team-first mentality before Mizzou ever reaches the spring dual-match season.
“We always want to win the day,” Murgett said.
That mentality was visible.
When players ran, the coaches ran with them. When a player succeeded, the coaches celebrated. When a group struggled, the coaches did not simply move on.
They found the lesson.
During one speed drill, the team could not initially reach the required time. Goodman stopped the group and explained what needed to change. The answer was not to leave the slowest runner behind.
Everyone ran together.
The players were expected to encourage one another and finish as a group.
It was a tennis drill that had almost nothing to do with tennis.
And that is exactly why it mattered.
Goodman said the team’s actions affect everyone around them.
“You either give energy or you take it away,” Goodman said. “Intensity and energy, you can use it a little bit interchangeably.”
That is becoming one of the central ideas of this team.
Intensity is not something Mizzou wants to turn on for tournaments.
It wants intensity to become routine.
The competition is already there
If I could give one word that could describe the practice, it is competitive.
Players competed in target drills. They raced to hit cones. They competed in serving challenges. They battled in doubles games.
Even when a drill technically did not keep score, players wanted to win.
Daria Budko and Ackman were two of the clearest examples.
The pair repeatedly found themselves at the front of competitive drills, and their personalities were impossible to miss.
Budko’s voice was nearly as noticeable as her forehand.
She repeatedly yelled “Go Tigers!” between sets and after points, bringing an energy that traveled across the court.
But her competitiveness was not limited to volume.
Raga described Budko and Ackman as players who want to win everything.
“They like to win,” Raga said. “They like to win in everything we do.”
That attitude is exactly what Goodman wants to cultivate.
He said winning is not simply about what happens on the scoreboard. It is about building the attributes that gives the team the opportunity to win.
“You show up, and you’re in a slightly bad mood, or you don’t bring the intensity, or you don’t cheer on teammates,” Goodman said. “Those aren’t the right attributes to lead to successful winning teams.”
The coaches want players who compete.
They also want players who make everyone around them better competitors.
That distinction was evident when Ackman and Budko lost one of the running drills. Instead of disengaging, the two immediately began cheering on the players still competing.
The competition did not disappear when they lost.
It simply changed form.
That is exactly the kind of culture Goodman is trying to build.
Ackman is no longer just the returner
For much of the preseason conversation surrounding Mizzou tennis, Ackman has been described by one fact:
She is the only returning player.
That is true.
But after watching her practice, it feels incomplete.
Ackman is not simply the person who happens to know the program better than everyone else.
She understands the game.
She recognizes adjustments quickly. She sees situations develop. She has enough experience to understand why a coach is asking for something rather than simply what the coach is asking for.
The clearest example came during the doubles work.
Goodman stopped the group to explain how players should defend at the net when an approach shot is coming. Ackman immediately incorporated the adjustment.
The instruction went from explanation to execution almost instantly.
That coachability may be one of Ackman’s biggest advantages entering her sophomore season.
Goodman said three of the program’s six core values is being curious, open-minded and coachable.
“These girls seem to be responding really well to the coaching,” Goodman said. “You can even see it with just the way that they initially respond with eye contact, and then they’re actively trying to go and implement it.”
Ackman embodied that.
She also looked more comfortable playing at the level expected of her.
Her game is not built around overpowering opponents.
Instead, she creates problems through spin, touch, movement and understanding.
During the volley and overhead work, her hands stood out. Her touch around the net was clean. Her footwork allowed her to get into position without looking rushed. Even in a challenging drill where Goodman put benches on the court to force the players to be as close as possible to the net.
During one approach-shot drill, she was one of the practice’s strongest performers.
Then came the overhead drill.
Goodman demonstrated the footwork, had the players shadow the movement and then put it into action.
Ackman and Budko again stood out.
That combination is intriguing.
Ackman brings the understanding.
Budko brings the power.
Together, they repeatedly looked like players who understood how to compete with one another and how to elevate the level of a drill.
Irina might be the most intriguing piece
Then there was Irina Anghel.
There are talented players throughout this roster, but Anghel has a combination that is difficult to miss.
Size.
Power.
Movement.
Skill.
Competitiveness.
And a quiet confidence.
She does not need to announce herself.
The tennis does that for her.
During the practice, Anghel’s ball jumped off her racket with a different level of authority. She was aggressive around the net, moved well for her size and showed the kind of athletic versatility that will make her difficult to play against.
Murgett spent significant time hitting with Anghel and came away impressed.
“She has some really great shots,” Murgett said. “It’s just good being able to get a lot of rhythm hitting, which was really good.”
Raga continued on about the freshman’s development.
“She makes them look easy,” Raga said. “She makes them look easy. At times, she blows us away because of the way she can hit the ball.”
Goodman described Anghel as fast and explosive, with strong hands and “incredible hand-eye coordination.”
But there was another part of the evaluation that may matter even more.
Anghel wants to learn.
“She listens, she wants to learn,” Goodman said.
That combination is why Anghel feels like one of the most intriguing players on this roster.
The talent is obvious.
The willingness to develop it is what could make the difference.
There is still a long road ahead, but Goodman said the program is farther along than he expected at this point.
That was not because every player is already finished.
It is because the foundation is appearing earlier than anticipated.
The rest of the roster has its own identity
Anghel may have the most obvious combination of size and power, but she is hardly the only player who caught the eye.
Danielle Chapman plays tall.
And she uses her height.
Her serve looked like a serve from someone who understands how to take advantage of being one of the bigger athletes on the court. Her movement and reach create natural advantages, particularly around the net.
During the approach and volley work, Chapman and Budko consistently looked physically imposing.
Mariana Higuita Barraza is almost the opposite stylistically.
She is smaller, but her game is polished.
Her footwork is one of her biggest strengths. She moves smoothly and gets into position without wasting motion. Her touch at the net stood out during the doubles drills, and her ability to control the ball gives Mizzou another dimension.
She also teamed with Chapman to win one of the early target drills.
That is part of what makes this roster interesting.
There does not appear to be one singular style.
There are power players.
There are finesse players.
There are aggressive players.
There are players who thrive around the net.
There are players who use movement and touch.
And then there is Daria, who brings her own soundtrack.
Her “Go Tigers!” calls could be heard throughout the practice.
So could her forehand.
Budko has power, but her competitiveness might be just as valuable.
Murgett described her as someone who is comfortable pushing herself and constantly looking for another challenge.
“She won a lot, she grew a lot, and she’s always asking for one more,” Murgett said.
That sentence might be the best description of Budko’s practice.
One more repetition.
One more point.
One more challenge.
One more chance to improve.
The coaches are part of the experiment
The players were not the only interesting part of practice.
The coaching staff itself has a noticeable dynamic.
Raga has an infectious positivity. He explains drills with a smile and seems to genuinely enjoy the process of teaching.
Murgett brings a player’s perspective.
A former pro herself she steps onto the court with authority and hits with the players and pushes them through a drill. She cheers after successful repetitions and constantly raises the emotional temperature of the court.
And Goodman is the organizer.
He is constantly watching.
He notices positioning. He notices footwork. He notices when players are too far away from the net. He stops drills when he sees something that needs to be addressed.
Then he gets involved.
At one point, Goodman played in the drills himself.
At another, he ran with the team.
He finished drills with high-fives.
He challenged his court to win.
He brought music into the practice when the intensity needed to increase.
It is a fascinating dynamic, the staff is demanding without making practice feel miserable.
Goodman said he does not want coaches to be the only reason players bring intensity.
“It’s going to come from them,” Goodman said.
That might be the most important cultural test for the next few months.
Can Mizzou’s players eventually bring the energy without needing the coaches to manufacture it?
So far, Goodman likes what he sees.
“I think we’re a long way ahead of where I expected us to be at this point,” Goodman said.
He pointed specifically to professionalism, preparation, energy, teamwork and maturity.
Those are not statistics.
They cannot be measured by a win-loss record.
But for a first-year coaching staff building a new program, they may be just as important right now.
Nebraska is the first measuring stick
The Husker Invitational arrives Friday.
Mizzou’s official schedule lists the Nebraska Invite for Sept. 25-27 in Lincoln, marking the first fall competition of the Goodman era.
Four Tigers will make the trip, along with Coach Murgett:
Millie Skelton, Leticia Bazan, Alba Salles Canudas and Evelyn Whiteside.
That means the first competition will not feature the entire roster.
It also means four players will get the earliest opportunity to turn weeks of practice into actual match play.
Skelton is the team’s junior transfer from SMU.
Bazan arrives from Peru.
Salles Canudas comes from Spain.
Whiteside comes from Texas.
The four represent exactly what this roster is: experienced in different ways, international, diverse in playing styles and entirely new to Mizzou tennis.
Nebraska provides an appropriate first setting.
The Huskers are hosting the event at the Sid and Hazel Dillon Tennis Center, with the tournament scheduled for Friday through Sunday.
For Mizzou, the objective is not simply to leave Lincoln with a certain number of wins.
Goodman has already made that clear.
He wants to see players compete for every point.
He wants to see what happens when they are down.
He wants to see what happens when they are ahead.
He wants to see whether the habits established in practice survive when the coaches are no longer standing three feet away.
That is the real test.
What should Mizzou look like?
If the practice was any indication, Mizzou wants to look intense.
It wants to look connected.
It wants to be loud.
It wants to compete.
It wants to be coachable.
And it wants to be comfortable being uncomfortable.
That last one might be the most important.
A team with this much turnover cannot pretend it already knows exactly what it is.
It has to discover itself.
Goodman, Raga and Murgett are giving the players the structure to do that.
The players have to supply the rest.
That is why the coaches keep talking about daily habits.
“That’s what they’re going to rely on when it comes to match play,” Goodman said.
Practice intensity becomes match intensity.
Practice communication becomes match communication.
Practice competitiveness becomes match competitiveness.
Practice confidence becomes match confidence.
And practice accountability becomes team accountability.
There is still plenty to figure out.
The fall will expose weaknesses.
The players will lose matches.
They will face moments when their games do not work.
They will have to learn how to respond when the opponent across the net is better.
That is the point of the fall.
The results will provide information. Showing how each player competes individually.
But the culture will determine what Mizzou does with it.
The first glimpse of a potential powerhouse
There is a temptation with a new coaching staff and a roster this young to immediately ask how good the team can be.
It is too early for that question.
What can be answered is what the team looks like right now.
And right now, there is plenty to like about the raw material.
Anghel has the physical gifts and competitive edge to become a major piece.
Ackman looks increasingly comfortable as the veteran voice and has shown an ability to absorb coaching quickly.
Budko has power and personality.
Chapman uses her size.
Higuita Barraza brings touch and movement.
Skelton brings collegiate experience.
Bazan, Salles Canudas and Whiteside give the roster even more international and national-level backgrounds.
The coaches have different personalities, too.
Raga brings joy.
Murgett brings energy.
Goodman brings detailed instruction and a relentless competitive edge.
Together, they have created a practice environment that rarely feels quiet.
Even the moments between drills have a purpose.
Players encourage each other.
Coaches explain.
Players listen.
Then they go again.
That might be the clearest sign of where this program is headed.
Nobody is pretending the work is finished.
In fact, Goodman repeatedly emphasized that the team still has a long way to go.
But the players appear willing to take the journey.
And that is what made this practice feel different.
The first tournament is not going to tell us everything about Mizzou tennis.
It may not even tell us most of what we need to know.
But it will tell us whether the foundation built in practice can survive the transition into competition.
For a program beginning a new era, that is the first question worth asking.
And after watching this team practice, there is one thing that seems clear:
Mizzou tennis is not waiting for its identity to appear.
It is practicing it into existence.
Tiger Top Spin will be back Monday recapping the Husker invitational. Columns and Courts will be back next Wednesday with more insight into Mizzou Tennis.
