It was bound to happen eventually for the Oberlin women’s tennis team. The Yeowomen suffered their first defeat over break, ending their unbeaten streak at seven.
The Yeowomen went 2-3 in their trip to Hilton Head, S.C., but returned to dominant form on Tuesday, besting conference rival Ohio Wesleyan 8-1 and improving their North Coast Athletic Conference record to 2-0. The men’s team, meanwhile, reached the .500 mark at Hilton Head, boosting their record to 6-6 by taking three out of five matches.
“For as young as we are I feel very good about [the spring break trip],” Head Coach Don Hunsinger said.
The women’s streak ended with a 5-4 loss to Erskine College on Mar. 25, and the team dropped the next two matches, against Depauw University and Kalamazoo College.
“The first loss was the best match we played all year,” Hunsinger said, but “it showed our inexperience.”

The Yeowomen rebounded, though, with 9-0 shutouts of Villa Julie College and the University of Southern Maine to close the trip. First-year Ary Amerikaner lead the team over break by going 5-0 in second singles, while Jessica Hauser went 4-1 at number four, and Barbara Burkholder took all three number six matches she played.
Amerikaner had a personal winning streak come to an end on Tuesday against Ohio Wesleyan, as she lost a singles match for the first time this season. She had been 12-0. But she and junior Alaina Fotiu-Wojtowicz took their number one doubles match, 8-5, and their teammates won across the board.
“It’s tough to play a team you’ve beaten before,” Hunsinger said, referring to Oberlin’s victory over Ohio Wesleyan last year. “They were better than we thought they’d be.”
With three straight victories, the Yeowomen’s overall record is now 10-3.
The men’s team also made a turnaround after struggling early. In their first match in South Carolina, the Yeomen were routed 7-0 by the University of Missouri at St. Louis. They performed well, though, throughout the remainder of the trip, defeating Huntington College 6-1, the University of Southern Maine 5-2 and Cabrini College 7-0 but suffering a close loss to Villa Julie 4-3.

“The men improved greatly at Hilton Head,” Hunsinger said, adding that after the first loss, “they chose to get better and win three out of the next four.”
Sophomore Jaime Frankel, first-year Nick Ogren, and junior Matt Fairbanks were the team’s top performers, each accumulating a 4-1 record at first, third, and fourth and fifth singles, respectively.

Both the men’s and women’s teams now turn their attention to the Great Lakes Colleges Association tournament on Friday and Saturday. The Yeomen and Yeowomen will face many of the same teams they played in South Carolina.

Asked about facing familiar opponents, Frankel said that “in tennis it’s the biggest advantage of any sports.”
Hunsinger said that the tournament was even more important than the women’s conference game on Tuesday because it could position the Oberlin teams to reach the Midwest regionals.

“We lost a couple tight matches [over break] that we’re looking forward to getting back,” Fotiu-Wojtowicz said.

The women’s tournament will take place at Kenyon College while the men’s will be hosted by the College of Wooster.