Women’s tennis makes quick turnaround to higher standings

Ripon College’s tennis program has ushered in a new era with the hiring of Head Coach Rob Oertel. He is the Red Hawks’ first fulltime men’s and women’s tennis coach since Hall of Famer Chuck Larson ’65 retired in 2005 after 39 years as head coach.

Oertel’s arrival immediately paid dividends as the women’s team finished the 2018 fall season with their best record in 12 years, going 8-4 as a team, including 5-4 in the Midwest Conference — as many conference wins as they had during the last three years combined.

“I was very happy with the progress that we made this season, and it showed in our results,” Oertel says. “I was hired with the expectation of turning this into a respectable program, and I informed the women from day one that moving up in the MWC

standings and winning more matches than previous years is a high priority. It’s great that they bought into that philosophy and succeeded this fall.” One reason for Ripon’s quick turnaround was the play of the first-year students, who make up exactly half of the team’s roster. They include Brianna Bembenek and Hannah Ryback, who combined to go 10-8 in singles play at the number one and two flights, respectively. That duo also teamed up to go 5-4 at number one doubles.

“We have some very good building blocks for the future with our five first-year students,” Oertel says. “Brianna and Hannah handled playing at the top of the lineup with exceptional poise. They both have a lot of inner confidence.”

The fall success will help the program in the future, as they hope to see an even bigger influx of talent in the coming years after finishing fifth in the MWC standings, just one game shy of qualifying for the MWC Team Tournament. That is a place the Red Hawks haven’t been since 2003.

“I hope we can continue to build on this momentum so that we will consistently qualify for the MWC Team Tournament, which means that we’ll need to finish in the top four in the conference standings. That is the goal,” Oertel says.

Another aspect that has helped is the team’s facilities. Although the team plays many of its matches outside on Larson Courts, they also play some matches inside the newly renovated Willmore Center. “As cold as it gets late in the season, having Willmore Center really helped us get some quality practice and preparation time,” Oertel says. “Good tennis players want to play, so I think Willmore Center will help us tremendously with recruiting because our players know that they can play on any day they want at any time, no matter what the weather conditions may be.”

Oertel’s challenge now is to conduct a similar turnaround with the Ripon men’s tennis team this spring. The men’s team once was the crown jewel of the MWC, with 21 conference championships, the most of any sport in Ripon College history; but they haven’t qualified for the MWC Team Tournament since 2007.

“The men’s team could be a little more of a challenge because we won’t have as many players on the roster as the women’s team. But I hope to see just as much progress throughout the season, with our goals being very much the same,” Oertel says.

MIKE WESTEMEIER, DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS