Tennis Starts Off Season this Weekend

Teams to Play John Carroll and Albion College

by Zachary Pretzer

After working on their games over the summer and thus far this winter, the Oberlin men’s and women’s tennis teams will get their seasons off to a start in two non-conference matches versus John Carroll University and Albion College this weekend. 
The women’s team is coming off a successful season in which they finished third at the North Coast Athletic Conference championships and fifth at the Great Lakes championships. The men’s team didn’t experience as much success as the women did last past spring, but Head Coach Donald Hunsinger is optimistic about the team’s chances.
“Our men’s team has two freshmen, two sophomores and two seniors, so we have a wide group of players. I think that we will be better than we were last season,” Hunsinger said.
The two first-year players Hunsinger referred to are Marian Bocek and Jamie Frankel. Hunsinger said Frankel will begin the season as the number one singles player, and seniors Ben Fox and Mike Shelton will start the year by switching between the number two and three singles spots. Sophomore Jay Criscione will play in the fourth singles slot, Bocek will start at the fifth spot, and sophomores Ashvin Raj, Matthew Fairbanks and Matthew Isaacs will vie for the sixth singles slot. 
Regarding the men’s team, Hunsinger said, “Our team has a bunch of really good people, and I am looking forward to seeing how our team develops as the season progresses.”
Said Criscione, “This year we have a really good team chemistry, and I’m looking forward to us having a really decent team record. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”
The Yeowomen have a great opportunity to build upon last year’s good season, and they return their top two players, junior Sara Jesse and sophomore Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz. Jesse won 22 of her 26 matches last season, and Fotiu-Wojtowicz finished last season with a record of 15 wins and nine losses. Fotiu-Wojtowicz and Jesse combined last season as a doubles team to finish with a record of 17 wins and nine losses, and Hunsinger is expecting big things from the duo this year.
Said Hunsinger, “I have high expectations for Alaina and Jesse this year, and I’d be very disappointed if Sara didn’t make it back to nationals.”
Hunsinger didn’t hold back in addressing Jesse’s and Fotiu-Wojtowicz’s work ethics. “Sara and Alaina are two of the hardest working athletes on Oberlin’s campus,” he said.

Hunsinger added, “I think our women’s team has the potential to finish in the top three in the conference. We have a really demanding schedule against tough opponents. In the conference, Denison and Wittenberg are very good and both have improved.”

Despite the challenging schedule, Fotiu-Wojtowicz is optimistic about the team’s ability. “We made regionals last year, and we really want to make it back there again. We are a small team but the players we do have are really good.”

Hunsinger also mentioned how important the efforts of Assistant Coach Adam Shoemaker have been thus far this season. “Adam is a damn good guy and has done an excellent job with the teams in practice so far this season,” Hunsinger said.

The men’s team will face John Carroll University tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., and Albion (Mich.) College on Saturday at 10 a.m. 
The women’s match for tomorrow morning was canceled, but they will play the same time as the men’s team on Sunday morning. All the matches will be held inside the Heisman Field House.