Netters Hand Out Post-Season Awards
The Oglethorpe University men's and women's tennis teams held their annual year-end season banquet earlier this week and handed out awards voted on by the entire men's and women's teams. Each team votes on Most Improved Player, Most Outstanding Player and the Stormiest Petrel Award which is bestowed upon the player that exudes the most effort day in and day out.

On the women's side, senior Katie Kuhn of Sterling Heights, Michigan was voted Most Outstanding Player. Katie played at the extremely tough #1 singles slot all season long and acquitted herself well against the top competitors in the SCAC.
 
Sophomore Alison Burt of Spring, Texas was voted by her peers as the Most Improved Player for the 2007-2008 season. Burt, also a star on the volleyball court, joined the team this season and actually climbed the ladder all the way up to where she competed a combined seven times at the #2 or #3 singles slot. Additionally, Alison compiled a solid 5-3 record while playing doubles with Jamie Dillon.
 
The Stormiest Petrel Award yielded a tie between freshman Molly Colvard of Chickamauga, Georgia and senior Jamie Dillon of Lake Mary, Florida. Colvard joined the team this year and displayed a fiery spirit in racking up a splendid 5-2 overall record playing out of the #3 singles slot. Dillon, another dual sport star (she played soccer at OU for four seasons), had a stellar season, going 9-7 as a singles player and 10-6 in doubles competition for a season record of 17-13.
 
On the men's side, junior Luca Cerenko of Atlanta was voted Most Outstanding Player for the 2007-2008 season. Cerenko posted an incredible 12-2 record in singles competition including a perfect 11-0 from the #2 and #3 positions. In addition to his singles exploits, Luca combined with Felix Mann and Alex Lindburg to record a 9-2 record in doubles play.
 
Senior Brick Faucette of Powder Springs, Georgia was voted Most Inproved Player. Faucette, a four year player who competed in a whopping 82 matches while wearing the Oglethorpe black and gold, battled all season long at the #1 singles slot facing stout competiton. Brick and freshman Ross Beall combined to post a 7-3 record in doubles competition.
 
The Stormiest Petrel award was earned by freshman Lawrence Sweatman of Memphis, Tennessee. Sweatman showed great dedication throughout the season on the practice courts and when called upon to compete in a match was always ready to play. Lawrence won all three of the singles matches he competed in this season and combined with Brad White to win his only doubles match for a perfect 4-0 record in games played this season.

Women Finish 10th in Loaded SCAC, Cooper, Dillon Named All-Tournament
The Oglethorpe University women's tennis team travelled to the SCAC Spring Sports Festival and lost two hard fought matches to Hendrix and Austin College to finish the season in 10th place in the SCAC. Seniors Ashley Cooper and Jamie Dillon were both a perfect 2-0 in singles competition to earn them SCAC All-Tournament honors for their outstanding play.

On Friday, the match turned against the Petrels in the #2 doubles competition when Molly Colvard and Ashley Cooper were narrowly defeated 8-6 to give the Warriors a 2-1 points advantage heading into singles play. The injury bug then bit the Petrel Netters as both Colvard and Kimberly O'Dell had to retire from their matches, Colvard actually doing so while leading.
 
On Saturday, the Netters went down again by the narrow score of 6-3 to Austin College. The Petrels fell behind 3-0 in doubles play as the combination of Jamie Dillon and Alison Burt fell 8-5. Oglethorpe went on to split the singles competition but it was not enough to overcome the Kangaroos. Katie Kuhn, Ashley Cooper and Jamie Dillon all recorded singles victories in Saturday's season-ending loss.
 
The Petrel Netters finish the season with a 6-12 record but will look to continue to improve around the strength of upstart underclassmen Molly Colvard, Alison Burt and Kimberly O'Dell.

Netters Close Out Season, Prep for Spring Sports Festival
The Oglethorpe University men's and women's tennis teams closed out their seasons this past weekend and will now turn their attentions to the upcoming SCAC Spring Sports Festival. Both teams travelled to Sewanee this past weekend to square off with tough, ranked conference opponents.

On the women's side, the ladies played an extremely tough match on Saturday against the #7 ranked Sewanee Tigers and fell by a 9-0 margin. The #3 doubles combination of Jamie Dillon and Alison Burt nearly won their match before falling and Abby Hammond nearly staged an upset in her singles match before going down, 7-5, 6-4. Otherwise the #7 ranked Tigers were too tough to tame.
 
On Sunday, the women played their most copmpetitive conference match of the season against a stout Centre College squad before succombing, 8-1. Freshman Molly Colvard battled through a shoulder injury forcing her to serve underhanded and nearly won a grueling three hour match before falling 6-4 in the decisive third set. With the loss, the women finish their season at 6-11 with six of their losses coming against ranked opponents.
 
The men struggled on Saturday against blustery wind conditions and a highly regarded Sewanee Tiger team before eventually losing, 9-0. Despite the lobsided point margin, many of the matches were extremely close as Brick Faucette lost his singles match 6-4, 6-4 and Felix Mann went down by a count of 7-6, 6-4.
 
The men bounced back in a big way on Sunday, trouncing the Centre College Colonels, 9-0. Brick Faucette managed to exact a little revenge in the team sweep by defeating an opponent in Doug Arnold who had previously topped Faucette in the fall ITA's. Both Gabe Henderson and Felix Mann won three-set thrillers and Ross Beall, Alex Lindburg and Brad White all won easily to help end the season on a high note.
 
With the win, the men pushed their record to 10-6 on the season with each of their 6 losses coming to teams ranked just ahead of Oglethorpe on the national and regional scene. The Netters will also finish the season ranked #16 in the Atlantic South Region, their highest ranking at season end in the modern era. The Petrels will now turn their focus to the SCAC Spring Sports Festival where they await word on their first round seeding. 

Netters Celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Against Maryville
The Oglethorpe University men's and women's tennis teams joined the International Tennis Association in supporting breast cancer awareness by wearing pink in last Wednesday's matches against Maryville. By doing so, each team joined the hundreds of colleges and university's across the country raising awareness for the diesase by wearing pink during competitions.

The women ultimately lost a tough match to the Scots, 6-3, with many of the sets being hotly contested. The Scots took 2 out of 3 doubles matches including an 8-6 win over Katie Kuhn and Kimberly O'Dell that turned the match. The doubles combination of Jamie Dillon and Alison Burt secured the one-point victory by winning from the #3 slot, 8-2. The Scots also took 4 out 6 of the singles matches to nail down the win but not before freshman Molly Colvard and sophomore Alison Burt won their matches.
 
The men celebrated "Think Pink" by donning pink shirts and then summarily dispatching Maryville by a score of  8-1. The Petrel Netters opened the match by sweeping the doubles as the combinations of Luka Cerenko / Felix Mann, Brick Faucette / Ross Beall and Brad White / Alex Lindburg all won. On the singles side, only Gabe Henderson dropped his match, albeit in a 10-7 tiebreaker in the second set. Cerenko, Mann, Beall and Lindburg all won, as did added player at #6, Lawrence Sweatman.

Women Netters Sweep Away LaGrange
The Oglethorpe University women's tennis teams completed a 9-0 sweep yesterday over LaGrange College on the courts at Oglethorpe University. The team looked strong in the late afternoon sunshine as they handled the Panthers with relative ease.

The women got the match rolling for the Petrels by sweeping the doubles competition over LaGrange. The three winning doubles pairing were Katie Kuhn / Kimberly O'Dell (8-2 victors), Ashley Cooper and Abby Hammond (8-2) and Jamie Dillon and Alison Burt (8-3). With the doubles matches in hand, the lady netters then set about their sweep of the singles session getting wins from Kuhn (7-5, 6-2), O'Dell (6-2, 6-2), Molly Colvard (6-1, 6-0), Burt (8-6), Cooper (8-2) and Dillon (8-3).
 
With the victory, the Lady Netters improved their record to 5-8 on the season as they get set for their final home match of the season this afternoon against Maryville College at 5:00 p.m.

Netters Score Two Victories on Senior Day
The Oglethorpe University men's and women's tennis teams competed on their home courts for the final time this season on Sunday afternoon in a Senior Day that saw both squads earn victories over Spartanburg Methodist.

The women's team said good-bye to graduating seniors Ashley Cooper, Jamie Dillon, Abby Hammond and  Katie Kuhn in style by blanking Spartanburg Methodist, 8-0. Each of the four playing seniors had perfect days begininning with Katie Kuhn's 6-0, 6-2 wipeout of Kelly Swain. Cooper followed at the #3 singles slot to earn a 6-2, 6-3 win before Jamie Dilon stepped in at #4 and won 8-1. Hammond had to battle a little harder to earn her singles victory but she did so by winning a tiebreaker in a thrilling 11-9 fashion. With the win, the women pushed their record to 4-6 on the season.
 
The men's team had to say goodbye to one of it's all-time most fiercest competitors in Brick Faucette of Powder Springs, Georgia. For four years, Brick has been a mainstay on the tennis courts, playing at every single position coach Howell has asked of him. This year, Brick has played the majority of his matches at the #1 singles slot against top flight competition and has seen his name rise to #21 in the South Atlantic Region rankings. On Sunday, Brick struggled in his two matches but one thing is certain: he'll be back on the courts on Monday morning working on his game.
 
The men's team did, however, earn a 6-3 victory over Spartanburg Methodist to raise their record to 6-4 overall. Both the men's and women's teams are back in action this Friday afternoon when they square off with Millsaps.

Tennis Teams Hand Out Post-Season Awards
Oglethorpe University men's and women's head coach Peter Howell announced post-season awards for each team earlier this month.

On the women's side, junior Katie Kuhn of Sterling Heights, Michigan was named the teams Most Valuable Player for her outstanding play from the #2 singles position this season.
 
Sophomore Jamie Dillon of Lake Mary, Florida received the "Stormiest Petrel" award for her constant dedication and unrivaled effort on the court.
 
Junior Abby Hammond, a former soccer star from Marietta, Georgia, received the Most Improved Player award after continuing to show signs of becoming a tennis star following her soccer career.
 
For the men's team, there was no doubting Eckhardt van der Linde's candidacy as Most Valuable Player on the team. In two years, van der Linde compiled an eye-popping 43-5 record as Oglethorpe's #1 singles player.
 
Brick Faucette, a junior from Powder Springs, Georgia, earned the "Stormiest Petrel" award for his consistently clutch performances on the court throughout the 2007 season.
 
Carlos Carthen, a sophomore from Stone Mountain, garnered the Most Improved Player award by using dedicated practice time to hone his ever-blossoming game.
 
Both squads will be back in action in 2008 looking to make some noise in the tennis-rich SCAC.

Niland, Malone Named All-Conference Honorable Mentions
Oglethorpe University seniors Antoinette Niland and Drue Malone were selected as members of the 2007 Men's and Women's All SCAC Team Honorable Mentions.

Niland, from Duluth, was 10-9 in singles matches this season and finished her four-year career at Oglethorpe with an impressive 45-26 record in singles matches.
 
Malone, of Snellville, was 9-12 in singles matches and 15-7 in doubles competion this season. In his four year career at Oglethorpe, Malone was 35-42 in singles competition and a stellar 50-28 in doubles play.

Petrel Netters Gain National Attention
Both the Oglethorpe University men's and women's teams received regional rankings in the most recent Iternational Tennis Association (ITA) poll. The men's team nabbed the 18th spot in the Atlantic South region while the women were voted 24th overall in the same region.

Both teams also had singles players as well as doubles combinations receive regional rankings. On the singles side, senior South African Eckhardt van der Linde is the 16th ranked singles performer in the Atlantic South. Eckhardt combines with fellow senior Drue Malone to form the 13th ranked doubles combination in the region. On the women's side, the senior-freshman combination of Antoinette Niland and Kimberly O'Dell have earned them the 23rd spot in the Atlantic South for a doubles team.
 
While the men have finished regular season play at 10-7 overall and look forward to the conference championship, the women close their season this Friday at 3 p.m. looking to raise their 7-7 record against Wesleyan College.

Petrel Netters Perform Well Against Conference Foes
Despite dropping two weekend matches to non-conference opponents #12 ranked Christopher Newport and Methodist College this past weekend, the Oglethorpe University men's tennis team has gotten off to its best start in SCAC matches in several years.

The men began conference play last weekend with a stirring 5-4 victory over a Southwestern University squad that had defeated the Petrel Netters in five consecutive matches. Playing from the #2 singles position, Drue Malone clinched the match for Oglethorpe with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

The next day, the Petrels earned another hard fought 5-4 victory, this time over conference-rival Centre College. Trailing the Colonels 4-2 in the match, Oglethorpe rallied to win the final three singles matches of the day, getting wins from Gabe Henderson, Joey Kosciolek and the clincher from Brick Faucette. The win notched the Petrels first victory over Centre in four years.
 
After stepping out of the conference one more time to face Rose-Hulman tomorrow at 3pm, the Petrel Netters will close the season against three conference foes: Millsaps, Hendrix and Rhodes.

Men and Women Netters Smash LaGrange, Prepare for Conference
Both the Oglethorpe University men's and women's tennis teams defeated LaGrange College in LaGrange on Wednesday afternoon. The men earned a clean 9-0 sweep while the women only dropped one point in winning 8-1.

Sophomore Carlos Carthen, playing out of the #6 singles slot, clinched the match for the men with a 6-0, 6-0 thumping of his Panther opponent. The men now stand at 7-3 on the season.
 
Freshman Kimberly O' Dell, playing the #4 singles slot, clinched the match for the women who are now 6-4 on the season.
 
Both squads now head into SCAC play against substantially tougher competition. The men and women square off against Southwestern this Friday afternoon at 3pm. For the men, it will mark their last home match of the season.

Lady Netters Top Agnes Scott
The Oglethorpe University women's tennis team defeated Agnes Scott College, 6-3 on Friday afternoon. The victory avenged the Petrels loss to the Scotties a year ago and was sparked by Antoinette Niland's three set victory from the #1 singles position.

Women's Netters Begin Spring Victorious
The Oglethorpe University women's tennis team won its first match of the spring season by defeating Spelman College on Sunday afternoon, 7-2.

Despite some first set troubles, the Petrels rallied to take four of the six singles matches in getting wins from Katie Kuhn, Sophie Allamagny, Kimberly O'Dell and Jamie Dillon.
 
On the doubles side, the Petrel netters swept all three points as the duos of Antoinette Niland / Ashley Cooper (8-4), Kuhn / O'Dell (9-7) and Dillon / Abby Hammond (8-2) each scored victories.
 
The 7-2 win erased memories of an 8-1 defeat at the hands of Spelman last year.
 
The women are back in action this Friday afternoon when they play host to Huntingdon College at 3pm.

Oglethorpe Doubles Team Cracks Atlantic South Region Rankings
Antoinette Niland and Kimberly Odell were ranked 31st in the most recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Atlantic South region women's doubles rankings.

The women's team looks to be very competitive this year, but their schedule includes a number of ranked teams. Upcoming opponents who are ranked in the recent ITA rankings include Sewanee (#8 nationally, #3 Atlantic South), Rhodes (#30 nationally, #8 Atlantic South), Methodist (#15 Atlantic South), Centre (#22 Atlantic South), Mississippi College (#24 Atlantic South) and Southwestern (#13 West).

Tennis Standouts Grab Postseason Awards
With the conclusion of the 2006 tennis season came the announcement of three Oglethorpe University standouts grabbing postseason honors. Eckhardt van der Linde, Drue Malone and Sara Zipperer each garnered awards for their respective men's and women's tennis teams.

A dominant force all season long that lost just one match in conference play, Eckhardt van der Linde finished 3rd in the men's SCAC Tennis Player-of-the-Year balloting and was named one of 10 players to the SCAC 2006 All-Tennis Team. Additionally, Eckhardt was voted to the SCAC All-Tournament team at the #1 singles and #1 doubles positions. Ranked #10 for the men's South Atlantic Region, Eckhardt narrowly missed being selected to the NCAA Championships.

 

Joining Eckhardt on the SCAC 2006 All-Tennis Team as an honorable mention was junior netter Drue Malone. Drue and Eckhardt paired together to form one of the most devastating doubles combinations in the country, seeing their ranking rise to #6 overall in the South Atlantic Region. After going a perfect 3-0 together at the conference tournament, Drue and Eckhardt won the All-Tournament Team balloting for the #1 singles slot.

 

On the women's side of the net, Sara Zipperer, a senior from Savannah. Georgia, showed grit and determination in compiling a record of wins that far outweighed her losses. Playing with a never-say-die attitude, Sara won both her matches at the SCAC tournament to be named to the women's 2006 SCAC All-Tournament Team at the #4 singles position.