Kenyon women gain No. 19 ITA preseason rank

TEMPE, Ariz. — The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) released Tuesday the NCAA Division III women’s tennis preseason Top-40 Coaches Poll sponsored by Tennis-Point. Kenyon College, which finished the 2022-23 campaign ranked at No. 19, will start the spring portion of its 2023-24 slate in the same spot.

One season ago, the Owls went 20-5, won the North Coast Athletic Conference and gained an automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Tournament. Once there, the Kenyon women knocked off Otterbein University and then New York University in the first two rounds of play. Their season then came to a close after falling to No. 14-ranked Carnegie Mellon University Tartans, 5-2, in the third round.

The 2023-24 version of the Owls only lost two student-athletes to graduation and added three players who make up the first-year class.

Kenyon got this year’s schedule rolling in the fall, hosting the annual Kenyon College Invitational and then turning in an impressive showing at the ITA Central Region Championship.

Play will resume next week for the Owls as they take on University of Northwestern Ohio in a scrimmage. The first countable match will be played February 10 in Indianapolis against No. 2-ranked University of Chicago.