WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
TEMPE, Ariz. — One week after winning the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) Central Region Rookie of the Year award, Kenyon College first-year Eleni Lazaridou was tabbed the Association’s 2023 NCAA Division III National Rookie of the Year. Additionally, both Lazaridou and classmate Allaire Berl were officially named ITA All-Americans.
Lazaridou is now the third woman in Kenyon program history to claim the ITA National Rookie of the Year honor. Previously, Caryn Cuthbert won the award in 1997 and Ali St. Vincent earned it in 1995.
Over the course of the 2023 season, Lazaridou compiled a 25-4 singles record and a 21-11 doubles record. Her singles win total is tied for the sixth best in program history and her combined singles and doubles win total ranks ninth best in the Kenyon books.
She finished the season ranked by the ITA as the No. 5 singles player in NCAA Division III and, along with Berl, ranked as the No. 13 doubles team in NCAA Division III. As a dynamic duo at the top of the Owls’ lineup, Lazaridou and Berl guided Kenyon to a 20-5 team record, a North Coast Athletic Conference championship title, a run into the third round of the NCAA Division III Championship, and a final national ITA team rank at No. 19.
Lazaridou was one of just 32 invited to play in the NCAA Division III Singles Championship and she worked her way through the first few rounds and into the semifinal round, which secured her ITA All-America status.
In national doubles competition, Lazaridou and Berl were one of just 16 teams invited to participate in the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship. The pair won their opening round match, which ensured them of the All-America award, and then bowed out in the second round, falling to the eventual national champions.
Lazaridou and Berl had a 12-3 doubles mark when paired in the Kenyon lineup. Berl, playing with multiple partners throughout the season, finished with a personal 25-7 record in doubles competition. That win total is tied for the fourth best in Kenyon history. In singles, Berl played mainly at the No. 2 position and racked up a 16-6 mark there. Overall, she was 20-8 in singles throughout the season.
Lazaridou is now the 11th player in Kenyon program history to earn All-America honors for singles play. She and Berl, together, became Kenyon’s 12th All-America doubles pairing.
