LARAMIE – Tears will be shed on the tennis court.
 
The head coach will probably get the waterworks started as Wyoming honors four seniors – Noesjka Brink, Nikol Dobrilova, Lucia Malinak and Sophie Zehender – before the final home match against Air Force at 5 p.m. Thursday in the UW Tennis Complex.
 
The international quartet, which arrived from The Netherlands (Brink), Spain (Dobrilova) and Germany (Malinak and Zehender), will leave a lasting legacy in Laramie.
 
"I'm pretty sad," Dean Clower said of preparing to coach the seniors for the final time at home, where the Cowgirls have a 9-1 record this season. "I love these girls and I'm proud of them. The emotions are definitely going to run high. Not just for the girls, but for me as well. They're like daughters to me. They've meant so much to me and my family at home. It's a sad day for me."
 
The group has brought joy to the Cowgirls' loyal fan base and led the program to its first Mountain West Conference championship last season.
 
Brink is 15-4 in singles matches and her 25 total wins dating back to the fall schedule is tied for third on UW's all-time list for wins in a season.
 
Zehender has matched Brink for the team lead with five singles wins in conference play and is part of a doubles team with Violetta Borodina that is 16-3 in duals this season, one win shy of setting the program single-season record.
 
Malinak and freshman partner Jeselle Ante are 4-1 in conference matches together. Dobrilova is 16-9 overall in doubles matches this season with three different partners.
 
"I talk about them to all my recruits right now. (The pitch) is do you want to go somewhere where you're remembered forever, or do you want to go somewhere and be another number?" Clower said. "That's the legacy they're leaving behind is they're going to be known around these parts for eternity. That's what I want the recruits to understand is you can be part of that."
 
The Cowgirls (14-8, 5-2), who finished 9-1 in conference matches to claim the 2023 regular-season crown, started 2-2 in MWC play with a deflating 4-3 loss at Nevada and a humbling 4-0 defeat at San Diego State.

"If you're the defending champion you're always at the top of the list to be taken out," Clower said of his team adjusting to having a target on its back. "I think we kind of expected that."
 
UW gutted out a weather-delayed 4-3 win at UNLV, where there were more fans in the stands wearing brown and gold than scarlet and gray, to begin this current three-match winning streak.
 
A standing room only crowd showed up for the Cowgirls' grueling five-hour win over Fresno State (4-3) last Friday night, which was followed by a somewhat less stressful win over San Jose State (4-1) on Sunday morning.
 
If UW can take care of business against last-place Air Force (1-15, 0-8) it will set up a showdown at first-place New Mexico (17-2, 6-1) this Sunday. The Cowgirls are in position for a second consecutive MWC title and perhaps the second postseason appearance in UW history following last year's NIT bid.
 
"Honestly, we're focused on the next match. We're concerned about Thursday," Clower said. "That's what I'm worrying about right now, and then on Friday morning I'll wake up and start going over notes and preparing for New Mexico then."
 
Clower is right: Thursday is about soaking up every serve and stroke of the senior class that changed the trajectory of a program.
 
"Since I took it over, we've been close, and they took us to that next level," said Clower, who is in his 13^th season as the full-time head coach. "Not just with how good they are tennis-wise, but off the court they've embraced Wyoming. They love the culture here, they love the fans, they love the state and they're a pillar to this community."
 
It's time for Brink, Dobrilova, Malinak and Zehender to take a bow as they take the home court for the final time.
 
If you are interested in learning more about NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) or would like to support our student-athletes, please visit 1wyo.org. 1WYO was created out of Wyoming's culture of neighbor helping neighbor. The mission is to promote and strengthen local charitable organizations and develop Wyoming student athletes. 
 
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