The University of Rhode Island women’s tennis team started its fall slate by competing at the University of Connecticut Invitational over the weekend.
A team without last year’s graduating class of Ava Grnja, Sophie Herrman and URI all-time doubles winner Nikki Fernando, URI head coach Jonas Brobeck recruited three players to the Rams.
Having been ranked No. 17 for their recruiting class on tennisrecruiting.net’s national rankings of mid-major programs, Brobeck recruited first-year Ellen Katzer, first-year Iben Mol and fifth-year transfer Adva Dabah from Drexel University.
“I know we had big shoes to fill,” Brobeck said. “It’s such a great opportunity to bring in some really talented freshmen from abroad who are going to come in here and help us greatly. On the court, academically and also with the championship culture we’re trying to build.”
Katzer and Iben made their URI debuts on Friday, the UConn Invite’s first day of competition. The Rams faced the hosting Huskies, where fourth-year Blake Rothchild was URI’s only individual winner.
Rothchild was paired with fellow fourth-year Steph Hylton in doubles and lost 6-3 before earning a 6-2, 6-4 singles win over UConn’s fourth-year Caroline Hinshaw.
“[Hylton and I are] in the same major, we were in the same dorm freshman year and now we’re living together, so honestly we’re more like sisters,” Rothchild said.
Rothchild earned two more singles wins on Saturday over the United States Military Academy and Bryant University, both in straight sets.
“[It’s] phenomenal to see her growth,” Brobeck said. “Her and I came in [to the program] together four years ago, so we’ve been together along this journey and just seeing her growth is so rewarding.”
Joining her in the victory column were Katzer, Mol, Hylton, second-year Kajsa Helgesen, third-year Anastasia Pettersson and third-year Grace Darcy.
Mol and Helgesen were paired for doubles against Bryant’s duo of fourth-year Maria Jose Hernandez and first-year Ceylin Konuralp and came out with a 7-5 win. The second doubles win of the day came from Pettersson and Darcy, who had a record of 14-15 together last season.
Rothchild and Hylton also competed in doubles and fell in a 7-6 (2) tiebreaker against second-year Sim Sipahioglu and first-year Abigail Ellison.
The Rams earned singles wins from five of their six competitors against the Bulldogs, each of them in straight sets.
Due to the weather on Sunday, the Rams’ matches with Army were played on Saturday, but only singles were played. URI and Army split singles play, but URI had to battle for each of its three wins.
Katzer and Hylton’s matches both ended in a tie-breaking third set. Katzer took a 6-4, 5-7, 11-9 victory while Hylton won 6-3, 5-7, 10-8. Rothchild earned her third singles win with a 6-4, 6-3 score over third-year Chelsie Son.
“We all went in there with a growth mindset,” Rothchild said. “Being a senior, I think the biggest thing for me is going out on my own terms and just giving it everything I have because it was the first [tournament] of my senior year.”
The Rams will take a weekend off before they’re back in action at the Atlantic 10 Masters in Davidson, North Carolina, starting Oct. 2.
