Women’s tennis closes fall season
By Staci Reafsnyder
Sports Editor
The University of Indianapolis women’s tennis team notched a 2-2 record while preparing for the spring season during fall competitions.
The team closed out the fall season against Depauw University and IUPUI on Sept. 29 at Depauw. Depauw’s women’s tennis team is ranked 12th in NCAA Division III play.
Sophomore Melanie Sullivan and senior Ashley Liles contributed the only wins of the day for the ‘Hounds. Sullivan beat Meghan Dus of IUPUI 6-0 and 6-1, and senior Ashley Liles defeated Andrea Burkhardt of IUPUI 6-3 and 6-2.
Liles has a singles record of 5-2 and has teamed with senior Lindsey Fischer for a 4-1 doubles record. The teams overall winning percentages this fall are .527 for singles, and .444 for doubles.
While the women’s tennis team does not have a winning record, Fischer said that the purpose of playing the matches in the fall is to give the players a chance to learn from competitive experiences.
“I am very excited about the spring season,” she said. “We have a lot of matches in the spring before our conference tournament and the NCAA tournament, and I hope these matches will prepare us for continued success.”
Head coach John Venter said that this off-season was constructive because they were able to see the potential of the freshmen for the spring. All of the freshmen have seen time on the court this season.
“We were also able to look at new doubles combinations and to see how deep the team is. We have four years worth of experience on this team, and there is lots of talent.” Venter said.
The tennis team will host the alumni match at Center Grove High School on Oct. 17. This will be the last game before the spring season begins on Feb. 9.
