BEREA, Ohio – Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Dean Morse, the Baldwin Wallace University women's tennis team will look to its veteran leadership in its quest for an Ohio Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles.
Morse returns five letterwinners, two All-OAC performers and three Academic All-OAC selections from the 2021 spring team had an overall record of 3-4, a 3-3 mark in the OAC and advanced to the OAC Tournament quarterfinals. The roster features one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and two incoming freshmen.
Headlining the returns are senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC performer Ashtyn Morris (Salem) and sophomore All-OAC performer Gabriela Heideman (Doylestown/Wadsworth). Morris, who is a three-year letterwinner, three-time Academic All-OAC and two-time All-OAC selection, was tied for the team lead a season ago with four singles victories and five doubles victories both at the No. 1 spot. Heideman, who was a second-team All-OAC selection last season, was tied for the team lead in singles and doubles wins with for and five, respectively.
Other returners include junior Academic All-OAC performer Kailin Breedlove (Parma), junior Academic All-OAC selection Lizzy Cole (Shaker Heights), sophomore Kierstyn Yates (Grafton/Midview), sophomore Kerrigan Ponsart (Cleveland/Saint Joseph Academy) and sophomore Juliet Penrod (Macedonia/Nordonia).
Breedlove posted a 2-0 record at the No.5 and No. 6 spot. Cole recorded two singles victories at the No. 4 spot and registered two doubles victories. Ponsart returns after earning three singles wins, including two at the No. 3 spot, and two doubles victories. Penrod looks to make a big impact this year after competing in one match last season.
Rounding out the roster are freshmen Hannah LeMaster (Avon) and Emma Trost (Norwalk) as the duo will look to crack into the starting lineup.
The Yellow Jackets open the fall portion of the schedule on Friday, September10 with a road match against non-conference opponent Franciscan University. In its only home match home match of the fall schedule, BW hosts Adrian (Mich.) College on September 11.
The Yellow Jackets also play non-conference matches against The College of Wooster on September 18 and Wittenberg University on October 11. The fall campaign concludes with the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Central Region Championship hosted by Kalamazoo (Mich.) College on September 24-26.
BW returns to action for the spring portion of the schedule in February of 2022. The Yellow Jackets will head to Orlando, Florida for their annual spring break trip during the week of March. Ohio Athletic Conference play is set to being on April 2 when BW travels to Tiffin to take on Heidelberg University.
