Season Preview: Women’s Tennis seeks ninth successive winning season in 2018-19

ADA – The Ohio Northern women's tennis program looks to add to its storied tradition of excellence under 18th-year head coach Scott Wills.

Last season, the Polar Bears would end the 2017-18 campaign with a 19-7 overall record and a 7-1 mark in conference play. Their regular season conference record would be good for a second-place finish in the final standings.

ONU also captured runner-up honors in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. Northern narrowly defeated Otterbein 5-4 before falling in the title match to John Carroll 5-1, marking the 15th time in the past 17 seasons that the team has earned OAC champion or runner-up honors.

Wills enters the season with a 348-92 record at Ohio Northern. He currently stands first on the all-time wins list for active Ohio college coaches and second all-time among coaches at the NCAA DI, DII, DIII, and NAIA levels in Ohio college tennis history.

This season, Coach Wills and his staff will welcome back seven former varsity letter winners and five starters from the 2017-18 roster.

The long-tenured head coach stated, "We have a good blend of experience and youth on our team this year. If we can leverage this experience with a constancy in work ethic and focus, we can create another special year for Polar Bear tennis."

The team also includes two former All-Conference honorees from the past season, senior Ashley Ochsenhirt (Birmingham, Ala./Briarwood Christian) and sophomore Sabine Worthoff (West Chester/Mount Notre Dame).

Ochsenhirt garnered All-OAC First-Team honors in 2017-18, her second straight conference accolade after being tabbed to the same listing one season prior. She also received OAC Player of the Week kudos twice last season.

After her transfer from Mississippi College following her freshman season, the senior has compiled an 80-31 overall record at Ohio Northern. She has seen success in both singles and doubles play, posting 40 wins in both formats of play.

"Ashley has impeccable timing and ball striking skills, which gives her the ability to take the ball early and time away from the opponent. As our lone senior, we'll look to Ashley to lead both on and off the court, and see her doubles game to go to the next level this year," Wills stated.

Worthoff claimed All-OAC Second-Team honors one season ago during her freshman campaign. She would post a 24-14 overall record, which included a 15-4 mark in singles play that ranked fifth on the team.

"Sabine was a key contributor as a freshman and fought through a tough injury to have a great year. Her heavy, flat ball provides her the opportunity to really dictate a match," Wills remarked.

In addition to Ochsenhirt, this season's roster boasts four additional two-time letter winners returning to the program. Juniors Mackenzie Wills (Ada), Kaleigh Cummins (Springfield/Northeastern), Katie Curry (Oxford/Talawanda), and Jordan Dodson (Worthington/Thomas Worthington) comprise that list.

Wills topped the Polar Bears last season in overall wins (43), singles victories (23), and doubles victories (20). The junior sports an 83-33 career mark overall, including a 25-6 record against conference opponents.

Wills stated, "Mackenzie made great strides last year in developing her all-court game to complement her strong defensive skills, which can make her a tough out. We'll need her to continue to build on her strong doubles instincts."

Cummins has a career record of 47-32 and a 15-8 record against the conference loop. Last season, she would go 24-24 overall and earn ITA Scholar-Athlete honors alongside 2018 graduate Lynn Kelly.

"Kaleigh hits one of the hardest balls on our team, and we look forward to her building on consistency and doubles play." 

Meanwhile, Curry has put together a 65-30 career mark in her first two seasons. Her numbers include a 22-5 mark against conference competition and 30-plus wins in both singles and doubles play. Last year, she registered a 19-8 finish in singles action and a 16-13 win-loss line in doubles.

"Katie's diversity in being able to hit significant top and slice off the ground, combined with her strength and athleticism, make her a tough matchup," Wills explained.

Dodson returns after going 11-10 overall one season ago. She finished the year with a 9-7 singles mark, primarily playing at the No. 6 position, and a 2-3 doubles record. 

"Jordan made great strides last year in improving her footwork to improve consistency to couple with the heavy ball she hits." 

Sophomore Macey Camacho (Hartville/Lake) will also return to the Ohio Northern roster after lettering in her freshman campaign.

Camacho earned her first career letter after finishing the 2017-18 season 9-7 overall, including a perfect 4-0 overall against conference competition. She went an undefeated 3-0 in singles play and 6-7 in doubles action.

"Macey worked very hard last year and came on strong at the end of the year with increased playing time, particularly on the doubles side. I look forward to the strong growth in her doubles instincts and overall game to continue," Wills stated of the sophomore.

The Polar Bear roster is rounded out by the addition of three new freshmen student-athletes: Kayleigh Cummins (Galena/Big Walnut), Olivia Schrager (Dayton/Miami Valley), and Abigail Staskiewicz (Mars, Pa./Oakland Catholic). 

Regarding his freshman, Wills said, "We'll look for real contributions from our freshman class this year. Olivia comes to ONU as an experienced tournament player with some great tools. Abigail and Kayleigh each had strong careers against good competition in the Pittsburgh and Columbus areas, respectively."

The fall 2018 slate is scheduled to open on Wednesday, September 5 when Northern travels to Defiance for a triangular affair with their hosts and Concordia (Mich.) at 12:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively.

Tournament action begins on Friday, September 7 when the team participates in the three-day Oberlin Invitational.

The women's tennis program will also have a triangular outing with Thiel (Pa.) and host Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) on Saturday, September 15.

The fall season will conclude with a trip to the ITA Regionals, which will be held in Kalamazoo, Michigan from September 22-25.

"We're looking forward to some challenging nonconference competition in the fall schedule to prepare us for the conference season. The Oberlin Invitational is the top fall invite in the Midwest, and one of the strongest fields in the country with a number of regionally and nationally-ranked teams. This, combined with the ITA Regional Championships and playing a strong Washington and Jefferson (Pa.) squad, should be a good test to prepare us for a strong winter/spring schedule."

During the spring schedule, Northern will open with a nonconference visit from Oberlin on February 23.

The team then departs for the West Coast to play five matches in four days against schools in the Los Angeles area. They have dates with Cypress (Calif.), Occidental (Calif.), California Lutheran, Rio Hondo (Calif.), and El Camino (Calif.) during the spring excursion.

ONU will play four additional nonconference affairs in the spring as they host Ohio Wesleyan and Saint Francis (Ind.) while making trips to Aurora (Ill.) and NCAA Division I's Valparaiso (Ind.) of the Missouri Valley Conference.

The 2019 OAC schedule sees the Polar Bears hosting Mount Union in the conference opener on March 30 at 1 p.m. Trips to Heidelberg, Capital, and John Carroll with a home match against Baldwin Wallace is also on the docket.

Ohio Northern will also compete in the annual OAC Tennis Fest held in Mason, Ohio from April 12-14. There they will have conference affairs with Muskingum and Marietta and a pair of nonconference battles with defending Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference champion Franciscan and Earlham (Ind.).

The conference tournament quarterfinals are scheduled for April 30 and May 1 at various campus sites. The final four teams will battle for the conference crown at the Lindner Tennis Center (Home of the Western and Southern Open) in Mason, Ohio on May 3 and May 4 for the semifinal and championship matches, respectively, with the winner receiving the OAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.