Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's tennis team cruised to a 6–1 win over Capital University in their first match of the season.
The Yeowomen headed into singles action after a clutch performance from first-year Hannah Soong and second-year Rachel Allen nabbed the doubles point. After Oberlin and Capitol split the first and third rubbers – fourth-year Anna Pastore and second-year Freya Rahm fell 6–1 to Capitol's #1 team Anna Fletcher and Nicole Flock while Oberlin's #3 pair, first-years Scarlett Kingston and Eva Lopez, flattened Kylee Fliter and Ashlyn Edwards 6–0 – Soong and Allen found themselves in a must-win game, trailing 5–4 on Capitol's serve. The #2 duo found another gear, as Soong's scintillating forehands and Allen's crushing returns helped them reel off three games in a row to take down Annika Hansen and Jenny Rollins, 7–5.
As the stands filled up at the Heisman Field House, Pastore continued her reign as Oberlin's top player. In a battle of the Anna's, Pastore hit Fletcher off the court with her powerful groundstrokes and aggressive tenacity in a straightforward 6–3, 6–0 victory.
Pastore was thrilled to start off the season with a hard-fought team win. "The win today was a great start to my final season at Oberlin," Pastore said. "I feel like we're meshing well together as a team with a lot of new additions."
In her first match as a Yeowoman after transferring to Oberlin this year, Allen ended her memorable debut with the match-clinching singles win. In the #2 match against Flock, Allen demonstrated a willingness to come to net and go for her shots, decisions that proved to be the difference maker in her 6–3, 6–4 win.
Hansen earned Capitol's only point of the day in a closely contested victory over Rahm, 6–4, 4–6, 1–0 (7) in the #3 match.
In their regular-season singles debuts, Kingston, Lopez, and first-year Olivia Wollner opened up a bakery, dropping 1 game combined. Kingston served up brunch with a double bagel win over Capitol's #4 Fliter, 6–0, 6–0; #5 Lopez dished out a bagel and a breadstick in her dismantling of Rollins 6–0, 6–1; and Wollner followed in her teammates' footsteps, slicing and dicing her way to her own double bagel victory, 6–0, 6–0 against Edwards in the #6 match.
Head Coach Magda Stepnik was thrilled with her team's performance following the victory. "Today's win is a big improvement from last season," Stepnik said. "We competed very well and showed a lot of toughness in the tight moments. Our first-years crushed it, showing up with full confidence in a great performance."
After winning the first match of their season for the first time since 2019, the Yeowomen will look to continue their success in Cleveland as they take on the No. 15 Case Western Reserve University Spartans next Sunday, Feb. 23. The first serve is set to go up at 5 p.m.
Fans can keep up with their favorite teams on Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok, and watch all the home matches live online. The Crimson and Gold's home broadcasts can be accessed on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.
