The men’s and women’s tennis teams look to follow up last season’s successes with another great year.

Head coach Todd Kane is entering his second season leading both teams. Kane led the men’s and women’s programs into the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Freedom Finals in his first season as head coach in 2021-22.

Men’s Tennis

The Colonels finished last season with a record of 10-8 with an appearance in the MAC Freedom Finals.

This season’s roster is compiled of five juniors: Drew Fiedler, Jonah Nguyen, Dominic Tyler and Ian Williams. Wilkes also returns three sophomores to round out the roster: Amin Ali, Connor Frey and Nathanial Rathe.

With a younger roster this season, the Colonels players are working hard in practice, working towards gaining knowledge and getting ready to compete in match action.

“We will have a lot of guys who will be getting a chance to become regulars for the first time in their careers,” said Kane. “This year is a great opportunity for them to develop on and off the court. We have a close-knit team and I think that sets us up great for the future as the guys coming next year will fit right in.”

With the upcoming conference changes for the 2023-24 season, Wilkes is striving towards placing in the MAC Freedom.

“With this spring season being our last season in the MAC, we are approaching this season with the mentality that we’d like people to remember who we were,” said Frey. “Despite some changes in the roster, our chemistry with each other has never been better. I would anticipate some great doubles matches and exciting singles battles with all the support we have from each other.”

Through their successes last season,

the Colonels gained a realization of the importance of hard work and how much of a role hard work plays in preparation for the upcoming season.

“We’ve been on the court hitting balls every day to prepare for what’s in store for us this season,” said Frey. “We are all incredibly excited for a fun last season in the MAC and can’t wait to see what we are capable of in the coming years.”

Women’s Tennis

The Colonels are coming off of a season where they had an appearance in the MAC Freedom Finals. Wilkes finished last season with a record of 10-7 with current sophomore Tea Amerise being named to the All MAC Freedom First-Team, as well as being named the MAC Freedom Rookie of the Year. Current junior Cassidy Greenman was named to the All MAC Freedom Second-Team.

The women’s roster is compiled of four sophomores: Amerise, Sydney Farmer, Sara Hoskins and Karlee Yuscavage. Greenman, Zoe Klein, and Kaitlyn O’Neil are the three juniors on this season’s roster.

“I hope to build off the success I had last year by being more confident, working with my teammates and listening to my coach,” said Amerise. “I think the successes I experienced last year were a result of hard work, my teammates, and my coach. We all worked very hard last year and pushed each other to be better, and it paid off because our team was successful, not just me personally.”

The experience that the Colonels gained from playing deep into last season’s schedule will benefit the team going into matches this year.

“Our captains, Zoe and Cassidy, bring a lot of experience and leadership to the team,” said Amerise. “The entire team and our coach are very committed to working hard, so we should do well.”

The men’s and women’s tennis teams return to action on Feb. 27, as they host Houghton University at the Ralston Athletic Complex.