POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (February 14, 2018) – The Vassar College women's tennis team had a strong 2017 portion of their season this past fall, showing the potential and ability of a young infusion of new players while returners have continued to develop and flourish under head coach Kathy Campbell.
 
With that solid play, the expectations this year for this squad have continued to stay high for one of the consistently top teams in the region and nation. In fact, the Brewers are still ranked nationally at No. 40 coming into the spring season, but with the depth of the team on paper, it's easy to see why the team is optimistic coming into the year.
 
The Brewers have a strong leadership group of four seniors, while three of which have played consistently in the top six for Vassar. That experience should help a team that looks to earn its ninth all-time Liberty League title this season. The conference has continued to improve in recent years, but Skidmore has won the last seven titles and VC would like to end that run this year.
 
Vassar had a strong fall season but dealt with a dearth of injuries and sicknesses that forced lots of missed play from some of its best players. Those absences allowed for some other players to pick up valuable experience in big tournaments, and that experience should help the Brewers going into the longer and more demanding spring season.
 
The spring season will feature matches against six ranked teams, including matchups with No. 5 Bowdoin College and No. 27 Whitman College during their spring break trip to California. Those matches will be nice lead-ups to big Liberty League road matches after break against Ithaca College, Rochester Institute of Technology, St. Lawrence University, and Rensselaer. VC also hosts tough conference matches against No. 20 Skidmore College and William Smith College.
 
The Brewers have been in the Liberty League title match in six of the last seven years, and have competed in the conference title match in all but one season since 2003-04. Vassar's goal will be to continue that this season, while picking up its first title since the 2009-10 campaign this year.
 
SENIORS
Vassar returns an established and solid core of seniors this year to help lead the team, as the group of four will be examples for the squad both on the court and off. The four seniors have been around for three Seven Sisters Championships, along with a pair of Liberty League Championship appearances along with a win over Skidmore two seasons ago.
 
That experience will help mold the seven underclassmen that the Brewers have this year, especially after the loss of two seniors last season and a freshman class of four this fall.
 
The senior strength is apparent all through the lineup, but nowhere more than at the top of the ladder with senior captain and All-American Kate Christensen. The senior out of the City of Angels has been the go-to player for the Brewers since her arrival in 2014-15, and she has not disappointed. Christensen has posted a total of 60 singles wins and 39 doubles victories in her time at Vassar.
 
This fall, Christensen was 6-3 in singles and won all four of her doubles matches this fall. Christensen was 24-7 as a freshman, and posted a 17-win campaign as a junior. Her determination, grit and competitiveness in practice and matches is a great example of how to battle on the court, and her leadership and attentiveness to details off it will also be a huge help this year.
 
Fellow captain and senior Courtney Geiss missed all of last year studying abroad, but has come back and played well during the fall. Geiss is very effective in many aspects of her game, having some of the best ground strokes on the team. The senior from Charleston, SC also possesses a strong serve, and is great at the net thanks to her 5-11 frame. She won a combined 13 matches this fall, playing at No. 3 and No. 4 singles.
 
Another player that was huge for Vassar last season and into the fall was senior Dasha Ivenitsky. Cheerful and laid back off the court, the South Salem, NY product ramps up the intensity on the court and has shown success. As a freshman, she was 9-1 in singles and eclipsed her career-best for a season last year as a junior with 11 wins. She also picked up 15 victories as a junior in doubles, while going 3-0 this fall in pairs. Her energy and leadership will be key for the Brewers this spring.
 
The fourth senior, Lauren DiFazio, is one of the most athletic players on the court. She also positions herself well on the court, especially in doubles, where she has posted a 14-3 career mark along with a 5-1 record this past fall. She will look to factor into the lineup for the Brewers this year as a senior, after earning starts at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 spots during her career.
 
JUNIORS
The smallest class on the team is made up of just one player, as Morgane Flournoy returns to the court after spending the fall studying abroad in the City of Lights. Despite being the only member of her class at Vassar, Flournoy has been a huge part of the team since her freshman season, including earning All-Liberty League honors last year in doubles. The powerful singles and doubles player plays the game with an edge, coupling crushing ground strokes with a soft net game. This has allowed her to be aggressive during matches, and that has paid off in wins including going 13-8 last year in singles while leading the Liberty League in doubles wins last season with 23.
 
SOPHOMORES
The Brewers welcome back a sophomore class of three this spring, all three players having made an impact during their year-plus on the team. The trio, from all over the nation, has combined to give Vassar different looks in both singles and doubles while providing great depth as well.
 
Sophomore Tara Edwards stepped right into the starting singles lineup last year as a junior and thrived, going 15-8 while playing mostly at the No. 3 position. The racket glides through the hitting zone with Edwards, and no shot is out of the question with the sophomore. When on, Edwards is one of the top players in the conference as evidenced by her First Team All-Liberty League doubles selection as a freshman. Look for Edwards to continue to play towards the top of both the singles and doubles lineup.
 
In terms of winning percentages, both Ashley Fair and Vista Grinde have thrived on the court when given the chance. Grinde, younger sister of Vassar men's hoopster Paul, has been dominant on the doubles court for the Brewers over the last two seasons. Chalking up a 17-3 career record including an 8-0 mark this fall, Grinde makes passing shots nearly impossible with her height and length. She's also been effective in singles, earning eight wins over the past year and a half.
 
Though having a slightly different style, Fair has also been a dynamo in doubles for the Brewers, holding the team's highest combined winning percentage over the last two seasons. Fair has gone 9-3 in singles action, including a 6-0 mark this fall, while winning 12 of her 14 career doubles matches. The athletic player from Laguna Beach will continue to bolster the strong and deep VC lineup.
 
FRESHMAN
Head coach Kathy Campbell has been thrilled with her group of four freshmen, as the quartet all bring something a little different. Talent-wise, there is certainly no shortage, as the group was named as the No. 14 recruiting class in the nation by TennisRecruiting.net. What is fun about watching the four compete is the style difference but the same competitiveness that has made this team strong over the past years.
 
Highlighting the group is four-star recruit Frances Cornwall out of San Diego, CA, who has battled a few sicknesses and injuries but still was a stellar 6-2 in the fall and 6-1 in doubles. Shot making hasn't been a problem for the 5-11 freshman, as she brings it all to the table. Cornwall is only the third four-star recruit for the Brewers in program history, and will look to play near the top of the lineup for VC this spring.
 
Vassar's top winning tennis player this fall was also a freshman, as Meghan Rodick stepped in and was phenomenal. Going 8-2 in singles for Vassar, while also earning an 8-1 doubles mark, Rodick is a player that will frustrate her opponent into making mistakes. Her forehand is very strong, and she chases down most of everything, which allows her to sit on the baseline and outlast her opponents. Look for that to happen a lot this year, as Rodick battles for spot towards the top or middle of the singles ladder.
 
Another athletic freshman, Sarra Yekta out of Las Vegas, NV, has a little bit of everything in her game. Her strength has been in doubles so far for VC, having posted an 8-2 record in pairs while playing alongside junior Tara Edwards. The pair got all the way to the quarterfinals of the ITA Regionals this fall, so look for those two to continue this spring. Her aggressiveness at the net is among the best on the team in doubles, while her ability to finish points has also come through.
 
The final freshman from Lake Oswego, OR is Rachael Hahn, a quick and active player for the Brewers. Hahn is the smallest player on the team in height, but plays with a tenacity and energy not seen from most. During the fall, Hahn consistently extended points and frustrated her opponents both in singles and doubles with her compete level and fire. Hahn went 6-2 in singles, including winning her final three individual matches to give herself some confidence going into the spring.
 
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Vassar get its spring season going Saturday, February 17 at Division I Army at 4 p.m. in West Point, NY.