Scots Ready for Four Matches in Hilton Head, S.C.

Elissa Lauber

Just like its male counterparts, The College of Wooster women’s tennis team will travel to Hilton Head, S.C., and play four matches during the school’s spring break (March 8-23). The Fighting Scots are scheduled to match-up against Shepherd University (11-5) Sunday, March 16, Centre College (1-1) on Monday, March 17, Tiffin University (4-4) Wednesday, March 19, and Spring Arbor University (2-0) on Thursday, March 20. Last season, Wooster went 1-4 during its annual trip to Hilton Head, with the lone victory coming against Shepherd.

Season Preview: With the core of its roster being sophomores, the Scots are still very young, however, they hope to translate that one season of experience into significant improvement this spring. Wooster slipped into eighth in the highly competitive North Coast Athletic Conference last year.

In addition to being youthful again, the Scots face the challenge of replacing their top player from a season ago in Joanna Tysko. Actually, Tysko headed their lineup her entire career, as the four-time all-NCAC honoree won nearly 40 matches at No. 1 singles (39-32). Wooster expects to remain competitive in that spot, though, with sophomore Elissa Lauber (Dover, Ohio / Dover) taking over for Tysko. Lauber, a fundamentally-sound, all-court player, logged valuable court time at the No. 2 position throughout last season.

Brenna Hart (Avon Lake, Ohio / Avon Lake), another sophomore, also played in the top half of the singles lineup last spring (No. 3), and like Lauber, she will move one spot up (No. 2), which should suit her hard-hitting baseline game. A third sophomore, Erin Bauer (Delaware, Ohio / Rutherford B. Hayes), is penciled in as this season’s third singles player as she looks to build off of four victories at No. 5.

The bottom half of the lineup will feature some new names. Freshman Suzanne Hamby (Elmhurst, Ill. / York Community) will start out at No. 4, followed by sophomore Eden Kovacik (North Olmsted, Ohio / St. Joseph Academy), who only played doubles last season, and Meredith Gavin (Rock Creek, Ohio / Saints John & Paul), a junior who has only seen limited action for the program.

The sophomores will also headline the doubles teams. Lauber and Hart are expected to join forces at No. 1, while Bauer and Kovacik could be the regular duo at No. 2 after playing once together as freshmen. Gavin and Hamby will begin at No. 3, but partners could change several times, especially early in the year.