SAN ANTONIO (Sept. 5, 2024) - The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) women's tennis squad begins the fall season on Friday at the St. Mary's Invite. Dave Watts returns for his third season as head coach. 

2023-2024 season recap

The women's team recorded the most successful season in program history last year. They won a historic 13 matches and reached the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Tournament semifinals. The squad also posted a six-match winning streak from Feb. 23-March 15. Highlights of the victories included wins over NCAA D2 University of Texas Permian-Basin and NAIA No. 14-ranked University of the Cumberlands. 

Preseason ranking

The Saints received 12 votes in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 Preseason Poll that was released on Aug. 21. Watts commented, "I think we have a stronger team than we ever had. It's a matter of just staying healthy and the sky is the limit." Watts also noted that the squad is really ambitious and have belief that we can do big things."

Returners and newcomers

Sofia Gonzalez, Alexandra Mille, Ana Osio and Lucia Popluharova return as senior leaders. Marie Peters joins the squad as a graduate student. Peters is from Belgium and previously played for LSU-Alexandria, which is a program alongside OLLU in the RRAC. Also joining the squad is Ely Laure Ah Sou, who is from France. Angela Pozos Perales and Millie Wileman round out the team in the sophomore class. 

Fall schedule

The Saints will begin the fall season at the St. Mary's Invite from Sept. 6-9. The schools competing are OLLU, St. Mary's University, Schreiner University, Texas Lutheran University, Lubbock Christian University, Western New Mexico University, Trinity University and Texas A&M University Kingsville. The next match is a week later on Sept. 13 versus Trinity University in an exhibition at the Butch Newman Tennis Center. The fall schedule concludes with ITA Regionals in New Orleans from Sept. 27-29 and ITA Nationals in Rome, Ga., from Oct. 10-13. 

GPA award

The women's tennis team earned the highest GPA among OLLU athletic programs. They combined for a 3.65 GPA, with women's golf following at 3.63 and women's soccer at 3.60.