Bell, Hurst, Cruser lead list of 7 Polar Bears named All-OAC in Women’s Tennis

By Wes Mayberry

| 2023 All-OAC Women's Tennis Team (.pdf) |

ADA — Seven members of the Ohio Northern women's tennis team were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference for 2023 in voting conducted by the league's head coaches.

Freshmen Jenna Bell (Latrobe, Pa.), Jamie Hurst (Granger, Ind./Penn) and Abby Cruser (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) were named to the All-OAC First Team.

Senior Regan Landis (Elkhart, Ind./Concord) was an All-OAC Second Team selection, and junior Olivia Kesner (Lima/Central Catholic) and sophomores Katie O'Connell (Novi, Mich./Saint Catherine) and Julianne Sheldon (Ashtabula/Saint John) earned Honorable Mention honors.

Bell was a two-time OAC Player of the Week selection in 2023. She finished the year with an overall record of 30-16, including 18-4 in singles play and 12-12 in doubles. She led ONU in overall wins and singles victories on the season and played primarily at No. 3 singles and No. 1 doubles.

Hurst also earned OAC Player of the Week accolades on two occasions in 2023. She was 28-15 overall, including 12-8 in singles and 16-7 in doubles. She tied for the team lead in doubles victories and was second in overall wins after playing primarily at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles.

Cruser played primarily at No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles in 2023 and finished 22-21 overall, including 10-12 in singles and 12-9 in doubles. She ranked third on the team in overall victories.

Now a three-time All-OAC Second Team honoree, Landis finished second on the team in singles victories this season. She closed the year with an overall record of 20-8, including 17-5 in singles and 3-3 in doubles. She played primarily at No. 4 singles and exclusively at No. 3 doubles.

A 2023 College Sports Communicators All-District selection, Landis is 97-32 overall, including 55-19 in singles and 42-13 in doubles, in four seasons at ONU.

Kesner and O'Connell joined Landis on the CSC All-District Team this season.

Kesner played primarily at No. 5 singles and Nos. 1 and 3 doubles and closed the year at 15-13 overall, including 11-6 in singles and 4-7 in doubles.

Now a three-time All-OAC selection after earning First Team honors as a freshman and sophomore, Kesner is 46-54 overall in her three-year career, including 25-27 in singles and 21-27 in doubles.

O'Connell earned OAC Player of the Week honors once in 2023 and finished 20-7 overall, including 16-5 in singles and 4-2 in doubles. She played primarily at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles and ranked third on the team in singles victories.

Now a two-time All-OAC selection after earning Honorable Mention status as a freshman last season, O'Connell is 52-11 overall, including 39-9 in singles and 13-2 in doubles, in two seasons at ONU.

This marks the first career All-OAC accolade for Sheldon, who closed 2023 at 19-10 overall, including 3-4 in singles and 16-6 in doubles. She tied Hurst for the team lead in doubles victories and played primarily at No. 6 singles and No. 2 doubles.

In two seasons at ONU, Sheldon is 38-16 overall, including 14-9 in singles and 24-7 in doubles.

Under first-year head coach Sean Swisher, the Polar Bears put together separate win streaks of nine and four matches during the 2022-23 season and finished the year with an overall record of 16-5.

Northern went 7-1 in OAC play, finishing second in the conference en route to closing the year as the runner-up in the OAC Tournament.