HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's tennis team finished last season at No. 12 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) South Atlantic region rankings. With a 15-5 overall record and a 7-3 Centennial Conference record, the Fords hope to make their eighth straight playoff appearance this spring.
The team will make its annual trip to Orlando to start the spring season. Last year, for the first time in program history, the Fords went unbeaten during the Spring Break trip to Florida and will look to keep the win streak alive in their five matches in the Sunshine State.
"I'm really looking forward to returning to Florida for spring break this year. Last year we had a really successful campaign, going undefeated during spring break for the first time in program history, and I believe a lot of our success during the season came from the confidence we had built during spring break. Hopefully, we can look to do the same this year. The upcoming week is really about melding ourselves together into a cohesive group. This is the only week where we finally get to focus on nothing but tennis and team building," commented captain Jessica Liu.
Having graduated three-time All-Centennial Conference first team honoree, and No. 1 singles competitor, Caitlin Gallagher, and with only one senior rostered this year, Coach Ann Koger and the Fords will rely heavily on their ten underclassmen.
"This season will be challenging due to the loss of three stellar varsity players from the 2014-2015 team. Our lone senior Robyn; three juniors Jessica, Abby and Robin (study abroad); a host of sophomores Greta, Caroline, Courtney and Jia-Ling; and first year team member Stephany are up to the challenge to keep our successful tradition alive. We also have a great group of women who push the starting line-up everyday- Emily, Rae, Annika, Renata, and Aurora. We play with a lot of heart, quest for success and stay positive on and off the court."
Robyn Himelstein returns as the Fords' sole senior. Himelstein received first-team All-Centennial honors in singles during the 2014 season. She has been a second-team All-Centennial doubles performer in each of the past two seasons. Himelstein boasted a 9-1 conference record in singles with the majority of her matches being played at the No. 3 position.
Also returning for the Fords are juniors Jessica Liu and Abby Payson, both of whom have been named captains for the upcoming season. Liu and Payson have been strong performers in the top six singles as well as in doubles. Last season, Payson posted two separate three-match win streaking in doubles, playing with five different partners during the year.
Sophomore Greta Koch looks to take on the No. 1 singles spot for the Fords this season. Koch played primarily at the No.2 spot last season and finished with an overall record of 14-4. As a freshman, she notched her first career singles win at No.1 against St. Scholastica and was named to the All-Centennial honorable mention team in singles.
The Fords welcomed four freshmen to the team this past fall: Renata DiDonato, Rory Lewis, Stephany Prodromos, and Rae Yuan. Lewis and Prodromos both posted .500 records in fall tournament play with 4-4 and 1-1 records, respectively.
In her 34th season as the women's tennis head coach, Koger looks to add to her career 351 wins and take her team to the back to the Centennial Conference finals for the second time in program history.
The Fords will host Wilkes College, a team that finished No. 19 in last year's regional rankings, for their home opener on Saturday, March 19 and will open up conference play the following Saturday with a home matchup against No. 11 Johns Hopkins. Conference play will continue through the end of April with the Fords' final match occurring at home on Saturday the 30th. The Centennial Conference Tournament is set for May 4, 7, and 8.