GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 28, 2022) – The Denison University women's tennis team is set to compete in the 2022 North Coast Athletic Conference Women's Tennis Tournament, hosted by Kenyon College starting on Friday, April 29, and running through Sunday, May 1, in Gambier, Ohio. The Big Red will open up postseason action against Allegheny College in the NCAC Quarterfinals, scheduled for a start time of 11 a.m. on Friday.
The Big Red, who are ranked No. 30 in the current Division III Women's ITA Collegiate Tennis National Rankings and are ranked fifth in the Central Region, will enter the weekend with an overall record of 11-7.
On April 9, Denison won 9-0 at DePauw University to clinch the NCAC West Division (3-0) for the third time under the direction of Head Coach
Jamie Scott. That win also marked the third season under Coach Scott that Denison has reached at least 10 wins in a season.
Then on April 20, the Big Red traveled to Gambier to play on the same courts they will compete on this weekend, and the Big Red left the courts on that day with a 5-4 victory over No. 21 Kenyon, Denison's first win over the Ladies in the tenure of Coach Scott.
2022 NCAC Women's Tennis Championship Seeds & Pairings
The 2022 NCAC Women's Tennis Championship will be held this weekend, April 29 – May 1, at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. The tournament begins with quarterfinal matches on Friday, semifinal and fifth- and seventh-place matches on Saturday and the championship and third-place matches on Sunday. The first two days will begin with matches at 11:00 a.m. and conclude with matches at 1:30 p.m. The championship and third-place match are scheduled for Noon on Sunday.
The No. 1 seed in the NCAC West Division, Denison (11-6, 3-0 NCAC), will play the No. 4 seed in the East, Allegheny (7-9, 0-3), while DePauw (6-12, 2-1), the West Division's second seed, will meet the East Division's third seed, Wooster (11-8, 1-2). In the other two opening-round matches, the East Division's No. 1 seed, Kenyon (11-9, 3-0), will take on the No. 4 seed in the West Division, Ohio Wesleyan (6-12, 0-3), while Oberlin (10-9, 2-1), the East's No. 2-seed will meet up with the No. 3 seed in the West in Wittenberg (7-7, 1-2).
Scouting Allegheny
Allegheny finished its regular season 7-9 overall and 0-3 in the NCAC East Division. Denison is 29-0 against Allegheny since 1986 and is 29-2 all-time against the Gators. The last five meetings between the two teams have all been sweeps for the Big Red, including two 9-0 sweeps in 2020-21 and a 5-0 sweep in the NCAC Quarterfinals in 2017.
Common opponents between the Big Red and the Gators this season include Case Western Reserve, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan, and Kenyon. Denison defeated Wooster 7-2 and OWU 8-1 while Allegheny beat OWU 7-2 but lost 7-2 vs. Wooster and 9-0 vs. Kenyon. Against Case, the current No. 12-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Denison fell 8-1 while the Gators were swept 9-0.
Player Rankings
NCAC Athlete of the Week Awards
Denison women's tennis earned three conference athlete of the week awards during the regular season:
2/21/22:
Sarah Robertson led the No. 12-ranked Big Red to a 6-3 victory over No. 36-ranked Centre College by winning at both No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles.
3/7/22:
Sydney Cianciola went 4-0 between No. 1 singles and No. 1 doubles on the weekend to help Denison improve to 4-1, including a 7-2 win over No. 32 Hope College on Saturday.
4/11/22:
Sydney Cianciola went 4-0 on the week to help No. 30 Denison to two NCAC West Division victories over Wittenberg and DePauw. Cianciola and partner,
Sarah Robertson, collected 8-2 wins against both Tiger teams at the No. 1 flight. At No. 1 singles, Cianciola posted a 6-2, 6-3 win against Wittenberg and a 6-3, 6-2 victory at DePauw.
2022 Kenyon Tournament Central
2022 NCAC Tournament Central
2022 NCAC Women's Tennis Standings
