Oberlin College Athletics

SEASON OUTLOOK

Coming off an impressive third-place finish at the NCAC Championships last spring, the Oberlin College women’s tennis team is poised for another highly competitive season in the NCAC and across the Central Region.

Last April, hosting the conference championships on their newly resurfaced Don Hunsinger Courts and seeded fourth, the Yeowomen upended the No. 3 seeded Allegheny Gators in a thrilling match by a score of 5-2 to close out their strong 2008 campaign. 

“Our goal is eventually to win the conference championship and not just place in the top three,” head coach Constantine Ananiadis said. “Our league is tough with perennial powers Denison and Kenyon at the top, but we are closing that gap each year through hard work and dedication.”

Although the Yeowomen lost one of the all-time greats in Kimiko Glynn to graduation last year, Coach Ananiadis landed one of the premier recruits in all of Division III in Vacaville California native, Ariel Lewis, who is slated to play towards the top of the line-up in singles and doubles this season.

Lewis compiled an incredible 109-2 record throughout her four-year high school career and was ranked in the top 10 in Northern California and the top 250 nationally.

Another key recruit in Ananiadis’ first-year class is Kansas native Finley Gates. Although hampered by injuries during her senior campaign, Ananiadis feels that Gates will be a big contributor this year. “Finley has all the tools to compete at a high level and if she’s healthy she’ll be the key in us winning a lot of those close matches this spring. She is a great competitor and has tremendous court sense, especially on the doubles court.”

Senior and team captain Olivia Hayden was a key cog in Oberlin’s 6-4 overall conference record in 2008 as she was a part of 20 wins between the singles and doubles courts.

Fellow seniors Kelly Sipp and Sarah Teitelbaum solidify the middle of the line-up as they each registered seven wins in singles action last season.

Olivia’s twin sister, Jane, is another top returning player, helping earn eight wins in doubles at the No. 2 and No. 3 positions last season while playing with an array of partners.

“As we head into the season, we are placing a strong emphasis on doubles play as it is so important in helping win dual matches,” Ananiadis added.  Sophomore Marta Robertson, junior Breanna Cahill, along with first-years Rebecca Brown and Emily Thebaut are expected to fill out the remaining singles and doubles spots for the Yeowomen. 

Oberlin has already hosted its own Invitational event as well as the Wilson/ITA Central Regional this past fall. The team also battled Carnegie Mellon and Grove City in dual meet action.  “The fall is immensely important in our competitive development,” coach Ananiadis remarked “and we have added more events each year in an attempt to sharpen up our games and be as ready as possible for the dual-match season in the spring.”

 The spring portion of the team’s schedule gets underway on February 7 with a home double-header against Malone and Baldwin-Wallace.

After that, the Yeowomen will take on a series of strong non-conference opponents before embarking on their annual spring break trip during the final week of March. Once they return from that trip, the annual GLCA tournament and conference play awaits the team as they quest for a conference championship the final weekend in April.