Season Preview: Women's Tennis team looks to have continued success in 2014-15 season
By: Ashley Birchmeier
Under the guidance of 14th year head coach Scott Wills, the Polar Bears hope to continue their success in 2014-15 both on the court and in the classroom.
The Polar Bears have been OAC Regular Season and Tournament champion or runner-up in 12 of the last 13 years, which has included team titles in 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013.
In the classroom, the Polar Bears have been named as an Academic All-American Team by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association for 12 of the last 13 years.
Northern will open its spring season February 21st on the road against St. Mary's (Ind.) at the Westwood Racquet Club in Lima.
Upon returning from their annual spring break trip the Polar Bears will play host to Oberlin March 15th before starting OAC play March 21st.
ONU will be on the road for most of the second half of the season as they travel to Walsh, Mount Union, Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein, and Capital and participate in the OAC Tennis Festival held April 10-11 at the Linder Tennis Center.
The Polar Bears are aiming for their OAC season to culminate with participation in the OAC Tournament.
The top four teams will compete for the OAC Tournament title at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, with the champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The Lindner Family Tennis Center is one of the finest tennis facilities in the United States and is the annual host to the Western & Southern Open, a U.S. Open Series event.
Wills welcomes back five letterwinners from the 2013-14 squad that went 17-5 and 7-1 in the OAC.
Leading the way for the Polar Bears is two-time First Team All-OAC honoree junior Christina Corbean. Last season, Corbean posted a combined 28-21 record, seeing the majority of time at the No. 1 singles and doubles position.
Wills also welcomes back three-time First Team All-OAC honoree senior fifth year Pharmacy major Michelle Tuma. She has recorded 108 career wins.
Junior Meghan Letizia and junior Taryn Stromback also return for ONU. Last season, Letizia went an impressive 41-6 last season, including a dominant 23-1 in doubles play. Stromback went 19-4 in doubles play in 2013-14 and also posted a 7-1 record at No. 3 singles.
Sophomore Brittany Toney is also back after seeing significant playing time during her freshman campaign.
Freshman Newcomers Lynn Kelly, Morgan McGlothlin and Morgan Schaeffer all enter and will compete for playing time.
"We have some nice balance with experience and youth," said Wills. "We'll need to leverage the experience of our upperclassman to help guide our newcomers and make us strong from top to bottom. If we combine this experience along with a strong work ethic and team focus, we can create another special year for Polar Bear tennis."