With a tough conference schedule and two busy seasons of play, the women of the Red Hawks tennis program are looking at a full year. Competing mainly at the one singles and one doubles positions in her debut season, Josie Rondestvedt (Altoona, Wis., Altoona HS) is eagerly anticipating sophomore tennis. 

"I am looking forward to spending a lot of time with the team, especially that first week with all the different bonding activities… On the court, I'm excited to keep improving my game and be there to cheer on my teammates during matches."

Despite a Midwest Conference (MWC) boasting two teams ranked in the top 75 of Division III, Rondestvedt sees the conference team tournament as a mark to be reached. The Ripon women will look to earn the team's first MWC tournament berth since 2003, and the team's environment may be the difference maker. 

"A good goal for our team this season is to improve our record from last year and make a strong push toward qualifying for the conference tournament. I think one of our biggest strengths is our team dynamic and supporting each other well, but a big focus this season, especially for myself, will be learning how to consistently translate what we do in practice into our match play."

The sense of community and family pervades throughout the lineup, echoed by the returners to the program. A starter in the doubles lineup, senior Catherine Skoglund (Roberts, Wis., St. Croix Central HS) also looks at the team's existing chemistry as an asset going into the year. 

"We've played together for a while now, and that familiarity helps our chemistry on and off the court. There's nothing like traveling with the team, cheering each other on, and grinding through close matches together."

The Red Hawks welcome back ten players from last year's team, including Isabella Engstrom (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS), coming off a freshman year competing mainly at the #6 singles and #3 doubles flights.

"I love our team dynamic," Engstrom says of her teammates. "I'm excited to see everyone again during practices, team meals, and our team bonding activities. I also love traveling with the team because we all get to go on aux and listen to our favorite songs, and just enjoy each other's company on our way to our matches."

Senior Hadley Berendsen (Kimberly, Wis., Kimberly HS) sees the chemistry translating on-court directly. 

"I think we play our best when we stay loose, have fun, and trust each other. When we're not overthinking and just focused on playing our game, that's when we really succeed on the court."

Berendsen, competing in the top half of the lineup for both singles and doubles, thinks in terms of the team first. 

"My personal goal this season is to appreciate the time I have left with my teammates and make the most of every moment. As a team, I think our goal is to keep pushing and supporting each other with the long-term goal of earning a spot in the conference tournament."

Head Coach Sam Brickley, entering his second year with the program, sees the team goals in even simpler terms.

"[Our] goal for this year is to improve our win record from last year," Brickley says. "We had a lot of matches that could have gone our way last year that we can flip in our favor this year."

Brickley cites on-court confidence as the methodology for improving the team's results. While the team individually posted solid results against strong competition, the program struggled with third sets and tiebreaks last season, dropping close conference matches by thin margins. Brickley is certain the team has what it takes to adjust this season. 

"This group is one of the hardest working and tight knit groups I have seen together. They push each other every day to get better," Brickley says, going on to complement the upperclassmen. "We have a large group of seniors on this team, they have been incredible in leading this team and doing what is asked of them."

The program will get plenty of chances to show the effort they have put in, and the leadership of the seniors, with this season's schedule. 


 

The Red Hawks open their season with an Aug 30 doubleheader, going up against Bethany Lutheran and UW River Falls. The Vikings struggled last season, holding a 1-17 record for 2024-2025, while the Falcons would post a 7-13 record for the year. Ripon has played both programs just once in recent memory, defeating the Vikings in a 2015 match while falling to the Falcons in 2011. 

Ripon faces stiff competition the following week, taking on UW-Oshkosh on Sept 5. The Titans finished last year with a 9-4 record, taking down the Red Hawks in a fall match 7-0. Berendsen would compete closely at three singles against UWO, falling in a third set 7-10. UWO returns five of their six starters in the singles lineup from last season, including their top two flights.

Midwest Conference play opens for Ripon with an away doubleheader against Cornell College and Grinnell College on Sept 13. Cornell put together an 18-9 record last season, defeating the Red Hawks 7-0 in their conference match. Three of the five All-MWC players for the Rams return to the team this season, including the single-season total win record holder for the program.

Not to be outdone, Grinnell College stands as another strong opponent for the Red Hawks, boasting a 19-10 record for the 2024-2025 season. Ranked 25th nationally in January, the Pioneers claimed wins over nationally ranked UW-Whitewater (#67 and #56 at time of matches), #61 UW-Eau Claire, and #23 Denison, ending their season with a loss to #9 ranked, and eventual national champion, WashU in the NCAA tournament. 

The Red Hawks see rival Lawrence University on Oct 9 this season, facing the Vikings at home. Ripon dropped a narrow 3-4 to Lawrence last season despite taking the doubles point in a clean sweep. The Vikings would claim the #3 and #4 singles flights in third sets, decided by just one break on both accounts. Lawrence retains their top two players from last season while adding a handful of talent, while Ripon will look to build on their best result to the opponent in five years. 

Ripon finishes up the conference regular season schedule with a doubleheader at home, competing against Monmouth (Ill.) and Illinois College. The Red Hawks fell to the Fighting Scots in a tight 2-5 result, with a third set tiebreak and 5-7 doubles result sealing Ripon's fate. Monmouth returns an All-Conference one singles from last season, but loses a middle-lineup starter to graduation. Illinois College collected a 14-10 record last year, defeating the Red Hawks 6-1. Rondestvedt would collect the sole point for Ripon at two singles, besting the Lady Blues in three sets at the flight. 


 

In addition to the four team conference tournament, MWC tennis also features an individual championship, separated by flights. Last year, Engstrom would claim the #6 singles consolation prize, defeating Lawrence University in the back draw final. Ripon would pick up a handful of match wins at the tournament, while either Grinnell or Lake Forest would have the winning player at every singles and doubles flight over the weekend. 

Run as a two day event, players are entered at their standard flights in both singles and doubles, competing in two rounds of the former and one round of latter on the first day. The singles championships and consolation finals take place on day two, with the remaining doubles matches also finishing to close the weekend. Held at Nielsen Tennis Center in Madison, the individual tournament closes the fall season, while the team tournament, hosted this year by Monmouth on May 2, aligns itself with the NCAA Tournament schedule in which tennis is classed as a spring sport.

While the conference champion for the MWC will be named as the team with the best winning percentage in the regular season conference schedule, the MWC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament will be given to the winner of the four team postseason play-off. In addition to the team tournament, the NCAA also conducts an individual tournament with singles and doubles competition, with 32 competitors for the singles draw and 16 teams for the doubles draw selected by committee. 


 

Universal Tennis Rating is one of the most frequently cited tennis statistics for understanding player strength. A metric which factors in recency of play, opponent ratings and scoring separation, Ripon's roster holds an average UTR of 2.91 for its singles roster, competing against three teams with lower ratings on average, and eleven with ratings higher. 

Division III tennis offers a wider range of talent levels than most other collegiate sports, with top teams generally competing at a level consistent with some non-Power 4 Division I teams. According to the organization behind UTR ratings, roughly 40% of Division III women's tennis players compete with a UTR of 4 or lower, while 60% of women's tennis players across all divisions hold ratings between 2 and 7. Grinnell leads Ripon's schedule with a 6.49 average UTR, on the higher end of all Division III women's tennis players. National Division III Champions WashU hold a team average of 8.59, outpacing Division I teams like Marquette (7.61 average) and Villanova (8.35 average).


 

Ripon women's tennis plays their home opener on Oct 9 against Lawrence in the Willmore Center. Follow the team's progress @riponcollegetennis on Instagram.