The OLLU women’s tennis squad completed play on Saturday at the Grizzly Invitational in a 4-0 loss to No. 10-ranked Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). The Saints are now 4-4 on the season.
Head Coach Dave Watts said, “SCAD Savannah showed why they are such a highly ranked team. They were too good for us today.”
The OLLU women’s tennis team fell to Trinity University (TU) 6-3 on Friday. The Saints are now 2-2 on the season.
Head Coach Dave Watts commented, “I’m so proud of our team today. Although we didn’t get the win, things are headed in the right direction.”
The OLLU men’s tennis team defeated Jacksonville College (JC) 5-2 at home on Jan. 26 to open the 2024 season.
Head Coach Dave Watts commented, “The guys did a great job against Jacksonville College. I was proud of the way we competed in the doubles by winning all three lines. Jaroslav Majsajdr stepped up in singles and did well at the number one spot with Kyllian Savary out. Luis Hernandez and David Daniel were two of the first matches off the court at lines three and four. Everyone brought great energy and hopefully we can carry the momentum into next week.”
The OLLU women’s tennis team opened the 2024 season with a 6-1 victory over Jacksonville College (JC) on Jan. 26.
Head Coach Dave Watts said, “The ladies did a great job against Jacksonville College. They played well together in doubles by winning both lines. Alexandra Mille did a great job by stepping into the one position with Lucia Popluharova being out. Millie Wileman also had a great showing at the second line. Ana Ossio had a tough battle at the third line and came up a bit short. Sofia Gonzalez did great as well on the fourth line. Overall, I thought they did a great job and hopefully it gives us momentum to start off the season.”
The OLLU men’s and women’s tennis teams open their season on Friday with home matches against Jacksonville College at Blossom Tennis Center.
Coach Dave Watts returns for his second season after leading the men’s team to a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Tournament Championship appearance. The men’s team is ranked No. 20 in the nation.
Under Watts, The women’s team won seven matches last season, which included a 4-3 comeback victory over NCAA D2 Western New Mexico University.
The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has ranked the OLLU men’s tennis team No. 20 in its NAIA Men’s Preseason Top 25 Coaches’ Poll sponsored by Tennis-Point.
Head Coach Dave Watts has led the Saints since June 2022.
On Nov. 16, the ITA announced that Kyllian Savary received a singles ranking of No. 8 and Johan Favelin received a singles ranking of No. 36.
The Saints are in the ITA/Central Region, and on Nov. 16, Favelin received a singles ranking of No. 8, Jaroslav Majsajdr received a doubles ranking of No. 6, Guido Picasso received a doubles ranking of No. 6 and Savarry received a singes ranking of No. 1.
The Saints begin their 2024 season on Jan. 26 against Jacksonville College at the Saints home court Blossom Tennis Center.
Lucia Popluharova and Saskia Vogelzang of the women’s tennis team received recognition in the ITA rankings that were released last week.
Head Coach Dave Watts commented, “I’m really proud of Saskia Vogelzang and Lucia Popluharova. Saskia has really improved as a player, so I was happy to see her do well at the regional in both singles and doubles. I truly believe Lucia is much better than what her rankings show, and she did great as well. However, we are just getting started and there is a lot of work to be done with this team.”
Popluharova ranks No. 9 in the central region in singles. She has won both of her matches this fall against St. Mary’s University and Trinity University. Popluharova also ranks in the doubles play with Saskia Vogelzang. They are ranked ninth out of 10 pairs in the central region.
The OLLU men’s tennis team had four players receive Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) rankings. The rankings were released last week with two singles players and two doubles players making the cut for OLLU.
Head Coach Dave Watts said, “I’m really proud of our guys. I truly believe our players are even better than their rankings show. When I spoke with each of them, they were happy to have the ranking but definitely not satisfied. We are still really hungry and are preparing for the spring season.”
Kyllian Savary and Johan Favelin received national rankings. Savary ranked the highest out of the Saints at the No. 8 spot in singles. Favelin followed in the 36th slot out of 50 players. Savary is currently No. 1 in the central region and Favelin is eighth.
Savary has played 13 matches this fall with a 10-3 mark. He defeated players from Western New Mexico University, Schreiner University (SU), St. Mary’s University (StMU), Trinity University (TU) and Tennessee Wesleyan University.
Favelin also has a winning record at 4-2. He defeated members of Texas Lutheran University, SU, StMU and Southwestern University.
Jaroslav Majsajdr and Guido Picasso earned doubles rankings in the central region. They rank six out of 10 pairs and have played three matches together this fall. They defeated NCAA D1 University of the Incarnate Word and fell to TU twice.
The OLLU men’s tennis team started the fall season by competing in the Brother AI Invitational at St. Mary’s University. The tournament ran from Sept. 1-3 and 11 players competed for the Saints. Head Coach Dave Watts commented, “I thought our men did a good job this weekend. I could see the players trying to implement our systems of play after only one week of practice. Kyllian Savary led the charge by going 6-0 with three doubles wins and three singles wins with Enzo Frequelin. Johan Favelin and Guido Picasso also did well by going 3-0 in singles and only dropping one doubles match
The OLLU women’s tennis team opened the fall season by participating in the Brother AI Invitational at St. Mary’s University. The tournament ran from Sept. 1-3 and seven players competed for the Saints.
Head Coach Dave Watts said, “I thought our women had a great weekend. Lucia Popluharova had a big third set tiebreak win over a tough opponent from St. Mary’s University. She outlasted a tough opponent from Trinity University who eventually retired. Ana Ossio was also very impressive. She played a great match against a tough Trinity opponent but came up short. She made an incredible comeback on Sunday, being down a set and 0-3. Valerie Navarro-Cavazos and Sofia Gonzalez had a big win over Western New Mexico University. I was very impressed with how our women competed this weekend.”
