Women’s Tennis: Ohio Northern (0-0 Overall) at Defiance (1-0 Overall), vs. Concordia (Mich.) (0-0 Overall)
Wednesday, September 5, 2018 @ 12 p.m. & 2:30 p.m. - Dix Tennis Facility in Defiance, Ohio
Wednesday's Tri-Match: The 45th season of Ohio Northern women's tennis kicks off Wednesday, September 5, when the Polar Bears travel to Defiance for a tri-match with the host Yellow Jackets and the NAIA's Concordia (Mich.) … Northern will start their outing against Defiance at 12 p.m. followed by a 2:30 p.m. match time against the Cardinals … CU will face off against Defiance at 5:30 p.m. to conclude the day … All matches are to be played at the Dix Tennis Facility in Defiance, Ohio … Last season, the women's tennis program posted a 7-1 conference record and a 19-7 overall mark, their eighth straight winning season … The team finished second in the regular season title race and OAC Tournament, marking the 15th season out of the past 17 years the program has been crowned the conference champions or runners-up … Eighteenth-year head coach Scott Wills and his staff welcome back seven former varsity letter winners to this season's roster, including 2017-18 All-Conference selections Ashley Ochsenhirt and Sabine Worthoff … Ochsenhirt was tabbed First-Team All-OAC for the second year in a row while Worthoff claimed Second-Team honors … During her junior season, Ochsenhirt recorded a 17-11 singles record and a 17-12 doubles record, primarily playing at the number one positions in both disciplines … Meanwhile, Worthoff would end 15-4 in singles action and 9-10 in doubles play … Juniors Mackenzie Wills and Katie Curry will also return to the program … Wills led the team in singles wins (23), doubles wins (20), and overall victories (43) a season ago while Curry ranked second in singles (19) and overall wins (35) and third in doubles victories (16) … Defiance enters the tri-match sporting a 1-0 record after defeating Olivet (Mich.) 6-3 last Wednesday … Concordia (Mich.) competes in their first match of the 2018-19 season.
Returning Statistical Leaders (2017-18 Stats):
| Singles Wins | Doubles Wins | Overall Wins | ||||||||
| 1. | Wills | 23-7 | 1. | Wills | 20-10 | 1. | Wills | 43-17 | ||
| 2. | Curry | 19-8 | 2. | Ochsenhirt | 17-12 | 2. | Curry | 35-21 | ||
| 3. | Ochsenhirt | 17-11 | 3. | Curry | 16-13 | 3. | Ochsenhirt | 34-23 |
Series Notes: Ohio Northern enters the tri-match with an undefeated 9-0 all-time mark over Defiance and a perfect 3-0 record against Concordia (Mich.) … The Polar Bears defeated both teams 9-0 in a season-opening tri-match during the 2017-18 campaign.
Head Coach Scott Wills: Wills begins his 18th season at the helm of the ONU women's tennis program on Wednesday … He currently stands first in coaching victories among all active Ohio college tennis coaches (NCAA DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA) and is the winningest coach in school history with a 348-92 (.791) record, including a 134-14 (.905) mark against conference competition … He has also coached the program to eight regular season conference crowns and six OAC Tournament titles.