Coming off of a 8–12 season a year ago, the Oberlin men’s tennis team is confident heading into the 2025 season. The team hopes to build off their solid performance in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament last season where they beat No. 3 DePauw University 5–3 before falling to No. 2 Kenyon College 5–0.
With no fourth-years, the team’s leadership will come from third-years James Foster and Shawn Lisann. While eyes will be on Lisann and Foster in leadership positions, the team will also heavily rely on the contributions of first-years, who take up six of the 11 roster spots.
“Compared to last year, our team is extremely young,” Lisann wrote in a message to the Review. “We have a strong group of [first-years] who have been pushing everyone to work harder than I’ve ever seen during my time here. I think regardless of more quantifiable benchmarks, our primary goal this year is daily improvement.”
As the 2025 season picks up, the first-years are feeling the stress of the team’s reliance on them.
But first-year Max Brose, reigning NCAC Athlete of the Week for his play against Hope College, is looking forward to the pressure.
“I think that while there has been some tough growing pains for the team, especially for us freshmen, these first couple of matches have prepared us for the rest of the season,” Brose said. “Personally, I have found that my level is improving each week, as my consistency and ability to play well in the important moments has gotten better.”
Brose was dominant in his performance against Hope College, securing wins in singles and doubles play.
Brose and his partner, first-year Enrique Margain persevered to a 7–5 win at No. 3 doubles, before Brose carried his success into his singles match. In a hard-fought three set battle, Brose prevailed to a 6–2, 2–6, 6–3 victory.
Against Hope College, the Yeomen suffered a 5–2 team loss. Brose was a bright spot. The loss moved Oberlin to 1–4 on the season. The Yeomen dropped their next match to Ashland University to fall to 1–5 on the young season.
Oberlin is back on at Hunsinger Courts on March 2, where they will face off against Ohio Northern University. Match play is set to start at 1 p.m.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team has had a strong start to their season thus far, opening the year 1–1. With last year’s season behind them, the program aims to finish higher in conference following a quarterfinal loss to No. 2 Denison University in last year’s NCAC Tournament.
The Yeowomen won their opening match of the season, defeating Capital University 6–1.
Second-year transfer Rachel Allen had a memorable debut for the Crimson and Gold. Allen and her doubles partner, first-year Hannah Soong earned a hard fought doubled point with a 7–5 win at No. 2 doubles. Shortly after, Allen secured a straight-set victory in No. 2 singles, winning 6–2 and 6–4. For her efforts, Allen was named NCAC Athlete of the Week.
In the Yeowomen’s next match, they fell to No. 15 Case Western Reserve University 7–0 to move their record to 1–1 on the season.
Three-time All-NCAC selection and fourth-year Anna Pastore looks to lead the Yeowomen as the season progresses and help the team maximize its potential. “This season, I think a good goal for us is to stay consistent and keep our heads down to finish higher in conference than we did last year,” Pastore wrote in a message to the Review. “I think our team has improved drastically in terms of chemistry, and it shows in our doubles teams and in how we support each other in singles matches.”
Oberlin’s next match is March 2 at the University of Mount Union. Match play is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
