After a successful spring season, the Drake women’s tennis team is eager to get back to competing.
In the spring, the Bulldogs had multiple sweeps in dual matches, beating other teams 7-0, meaning the Bulldogs won in both the doubles and in every position in the singles. Last spring, the team won their conference tournament after winning three consecutive competitive rounds, allowing them to advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years and the third time ever in program history. During the conference tournament, Drake won both their first and second rounds 4-3 and then won in the finals against Missouri State with a score of 4-0.
This upcoming fall season, the Bulldogs have a lot of action ahead of them, with a total of five different tournaments for them to compete in. Their first tournament takes place here in Des Moines at the Drake Invite, starting on Sept. 10. Following that tournament, the Bulldogs will travel to Minneapolis to compete in the Gopher Invite, hosted by the University of Minnesota, starting the weekend of Sept. 24. The third tournament for women’s tennis will be in Indiana where the Bulldogs will compete in the MVC individual championships at Valparaiso University. The ITA Central Regionals will be in Iowa City starting on Oct. 21. Drake’s final competition will be the Bulldog Classic, which will be played here at home.
Last year, the Bulldogs did not compete in fall tournaments due to COVID-19, so the team is eager for an opportunity to compete again.
“I’m ready for another chance to be on the court with this team,” said Kelsey Neville, Senior. “I can’t wait to see everything that we will accomplish this year.”
Women’s tennis has a few new additions to the team this year, starting with three first-years, Jyun-yi Lee, Mille Haagensen, and Yana Gaskell. The Bulldogs are also adding Junior Rebecca Ehn. Besides the addition of new team members, director of athletics Brian Hardin announced the new head coach, Kristina Lott, on Tuesday, Aug. 24. Lott was the assistant coach of the women’s team for the previous two seasons.
Junior Kendall Hunt is ready for this upcoming fall season.
“I’m so excited for a new season with a new coach. I expect great things for the team,” Hunt said. “It’s great to finally be able to compete in fall tournaments again.”
The Bulldogs will begin preparing for their upcoming season on Aug. 30.
“I’m looking forward to getting back on the court with my teammates and starting training again,” said Sophomore Ines Stephan. “I am also looking forward to competing in fall tournaments with the team. Drake women’s tennis is ready to have another great season and to take down more schools.”
After a couple of weeks of training the team will start competing here at Drake. Follow along with the Bulldogs with live score updates on Drake’s athletic website, and find other updates on the Drake women’s tennis Instagram.
