Courtesy of Brian Beard

Last weekend, the women’s tennis team found success against Kenyon College (8–5) and Case Western Reserve University (8–3) in Cleveland, Ohio. After beating Kenyon 5–2 and bageling Case Western 7–0, the Polar Bears are now ranked 11th in Division III nationally.

Confidence was high heading into the weekend. Captain Candice Ballarin ’25 and the team believed they had what it took to come out on top. Reflecting on the performance, Ballarin shared her thoughts on the hard-fought victories.

“I really thought we were going to win both those matches. While I didn’t think it was going to be a total sweep, we thought those games were going to be very tough matches. At the end of the day, a sweep is an amazing feeling against a great team,” Ballarin said.

After splitting the weekend in doubles, Ballarin emphasized that the long travel distance was not a barrier to the team’s success.

“Despite the flight, we went there, we showed up and we brought the energy. Having an energetic presence is something we’ve been really focused on this year,” Ballarin said. “Our energy has really been working for us this year, and even in preseason, we would run practices being loud and showing our dominance.”

On Saturday, Bowdoin started off hot winning all three doubles matches, securing the doubles point. Then, with wins from Jamilah Karah ’25, Julia Ross ’27, Zoe Sun ’27 and Bella Hartung ’28, the Polar Bears secured the victory over Kenyon.

“Kenyon came out feistier than we were expecting, and since they aren’t a team that we’re familiar with, we were a little off balance at first. After a tough first set, I really was able to turn it around and find my footing and find my confidence,” Hartung said.  “I think that was just a big personal win for me, figuring that out, and it really set the tone for the weekend.”

The next day, against Case Western, the duos of Caroline Stuhlfaut ’27 and Karah as well as Hartung and Sun helped earn the College the doubles point. Then, with  Karah, Stuhlfaut and Sun all winning in singles, the Polar Bears secured their victory. The College then swept Case Western with wins from Hartung, Suzanne Pogorelec ’28 and Ross.

Leading up to last weekend, the team had put in the work in order to build to success. The Polar Bears played matches all throughout spring break, splitting their wins. To start, the team lost 2–5 to Wesleyan University (11–1; 4–0 NESCAC) and then won 7–0 to Trinity College (5–5; 0–4 NESCAC). Then, the team won against Washington University in St. Louis (8–4) and Southwestern University (7–7) but lost to Trinity University (15–3) and the University of Chicago (14–1).

“Spring break was especially tough for us, shifting to outdoor tennis, and we faced a lot of very talented teams. We went through a lot of adversity, but we learned so much from it,” Hartung said.  “Being able to adjust and go right into this past weekend and winning the doubles point both times and implementing those plays that we had to work on was massive for our success.”

The Polar Bears’ success in winning both the doubles points in Ohio was an improvement from spring break competition, where the team failed to earn double points in their matches against Trinity University and Chicago.

In order to win a college match, a team needs to collectively win either two doubles and three singles matches or four singles matches. This is a new rule change to DIII tennis, whereas before, scoring consisted of three doubles and six singles match wins with each match earning one point on the scoreboard.

As the team now finds its footing midway through the season, the Polar Bears will travel to Middlebury College (7–4; 3–1 NESCAC) and Williams College (3–5; 1–3 NESCAC) this weekend.

“We know it’ll be a battle out there,” Ballarin said. “We’re really focused, and we’re reminding ourselves to take it one match at a time and that energy, confidence and being true to ourselves is going to be key.”

With only a handful of matches left, the team’s goals are within reach.

“We want to make it to Nationals. That’s been a goal for the program for a really long time now, and this year, it seems super feasible. We’re keeping our heads down and working towards that goal,” Ballarin said.