Titans Begin Women's Tennis Season In Whitewater
UW-Oshkosh will be challenged early when it travels to 12-time defending WIAC champion UW-Whitewater for its opening match of the 2019-20 women's tennis season.
UW-Oshkosh, under the leadership of fifth-year head coach Robert Henshaw, is scheduled to play 12 dual matches this fall and six more in the spring. This year's agenda also includes a neutral-court match against NCAA Division II Winona State University (Minn.) and appearances at both the UW-Whitewater and Hope College (Mich.) invitationals.
The Titans will spend the first two days of their season in Whitewater as they battle the Warhawks on Aug. 30 and compete at the UW-Whitewater Invitational on Aug. 31.
UW-Whitewater compiled a 13-12 record (6-0 WIAC) last season, including 9-0 and 5-0 wins over UW-Oshkosh. The Warhawks lost a 5-2 decision to Carleton College (Minn.) in the second round of the NCAA Division III Championship after earning the WIAC's automatic berth to the tournament.
The UW-Whitewater Invitational, which features three flights of both singles and doubles competition, is expected to draw players from eight programs, including Carthage College, Grinnell College (Iowa) and WIAC members UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse. UW-Whitewater won last year's eight-team tournament with 40 points while UW-Oshkosh finished seventh with six.
Following its trip to Whitewater, UW-Oshkosh battles a pair of Midwest Conference (MWC) opponents in Lawrence University and Ripon College. The Titans host Lawrence University in their home opener on Sept. 3 at the Kolf Sports Center Outdoor Courts before visiting Ripon College on Sept. 5. UW-Oshkosh has won 20 of its last 24 meetings with Lawrence University (4-9 record in 2018-19) and 13 straight decisions over Ripon College (8-4).
UW-Oshkosh then journeys to La Crosse for matches on Sept. 7 against Winona State University (9-8) of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and UW-La Crosse (15-5, 4-2 WIAC). UW-Oshkosh's contest with Winona State University will be the first between the programs since the 2013-14 season.
After a one-year absence, UW-Oshkosh returns to Holland, Mich., for the Hope College Invitational on Sept. 13-14. The non-scoring event features two flights of both singles and doubles activity.
UW-Oshkosh then hosts Marian University (9-7) of the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) on Sept. 19 and UW-Stevens Point (2-10, 0-6 WIAC) on Sept. 26 at the Kolf Sports Center Outdoor Courts. The Titans have won all seven of their meetings with Marian University and 20 of their last 27 matches against UW-Stevens Point.
Visits to MWC member St. Norbert College (11-5) and UW-River Falls (4-10, 2-4 WIAC) close out the month of September for UW-Oshkosh. The Titans will be the guest of St. Norbert College on Sept. 28 and UW-River Falls on Sept. 29. UW-Oshkosh has won 17 of its last 24 contests against each team.
UW-Oshkosh ushers in the month of October with home matches against NACC member Milwaukee School of Engineering and WIAC rivals UW-Eau Claire and UW-Stout. The Titans will host Milwaukee School of Engineering (10-13) at the Kolf Sports Center Outdoor Courts and both UW-Eau Claire (15-5, 5-1 WIAC) and UW-Stout (1-8, 1-5) at Valley Fitness and Racquet in Neenah. UW-Oshkosh is unbeaten in two meetings against Milwaukee School of Engineering and a winner in 19 of its last 24 matchups against UW-Stout.
UW-Oshkosh concludes the fall portion its schedule at the WIAC Championship on Oct. 26-27 in Madison (Nielsen Tennis Stadium). The overall WIAC champion will be determined by using a combination of the regular season dual-meet standings and the league championship results. The finish in the regular season standings accounts for one-third of the criteria while the conference championship finish accounts for the remaining two-thirds. UW-Oshkosh has finished fourth in the WIAC each of the past seven seasons.
Finishing behind champion UW-Whitewater and runner-up UW-La Crosse in last year's WIAC overall standings were third-place UW-Eau Claire, fourth-place UW-Oshkosh, fifth-place UW-River Falls, sixth-place UW-Stout and seventh-place UW-Stevens Point.
UW-Oshkosh's spring schedule includes matches against Coe (Iowa) and Augustana (Ill.) colleges on March 7 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; St. Norbert and Carthage colleges on March 29 in Green Bay; and Luther (Iowa) and Wartburg (Iowa) colleges on April 18 in Decorah, Iowa.
Wartburg College (18-4) captured the American Rivers Conference (ARC) title a year ago while Luther College (15-10) won the league's postseason tournament to earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Championship. Coe College (10-16) was a third-place finisher in the ARC a year ago.
Augustana and Carthage colleges are both members of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW). Augustana College (18-6) won last year's CCIW title while Carthage College (10-8) placed third in the league's standings.
If UW-Oshkosh finishes among the top four squads at the WIAC Championship it will also participate at the WIAC Team Tournament on April 25. The winner of that event will secure the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship.
UW-Oshkosh returns nine of its 13 letter winners from last year's team, including sophomore Michelle Spicer who placed third at No. 5 singles and seniors Alyssa Leffler and Samantha Koppa who finished fourth at No. 1 and No. 3 singles, respectively, at the WIAC Championship.
Leffler and Koppa were also fourth-place finishers at the 2016 and 2017 WIAC Championships. Leffler competed at No. 2 singles both years while Koppa participated at No. 5 singles in 2016 and No. 4 singles in 2017.
Other letter winners returning from last year's team are juniors Angie Carini and Kelley Hodyl and sophomores Evie Chitko, Katie Hammerton, Taylor Johnson and Courtney Salisbury.
Spicer led UW-Oshkosh with 12 individual wins last season while Leffler followed with nine and Koppa with seven. Leffler and Spicer paced the Titans with nine doubles victories a year ago.
The Titans also welcome junior Lesley Kutnink back to the team after a one-year absence. Kutnink, a two-year letter winner, finished fourth in No. 5 singles at the 2017 WIAC Championship.