RIPON, Wis. -- The Ripon women's tennis team suffered a pair of defeats today, September 12, falling 6-1 to the UW-Oshkosh Titans (2-1, 0-1 WIAC), and 3-4 to conference opponent Monmouth (1-3, 1-0 MWC).
The first match of the day came against the hard-serving Titans, who would storm their way to wins at two and three doubles. However, one doubles partners
Josie Rondestvedt (Altoona, Wis., Altoona HS) and
Jessi Griepentrog (Freedom, Wis., Fox Valley Lutheran HS) would play some of their best doubles of the season, attacking throughout the court and winning tight points to take a 6-1 win over the visitors. Rondestvedt didn't stop there; carrying the energy into singles, she carved out a lead at the top flight behind steady baseline play and opportune approaches. Although she took the first set for the Red Hawks, the serve-plus-one combo and heavy returns from her opponent pushed the second set in favor of the Titans, while the tiebreak quickly dropped to a 6-9 scoreline against Rondestvedt. Playing some of her best tennis in the biggest points, Rondestvedt won five consecutive tiebreak points to capture the match 11-9 over the visitor.
Unfortunately, Rondestvedt's wins would be the only of the match for the Red Hawks, and the team would carry a 0-1 record on the day into the afternoon conference opener against Monmouth. At the top flight, Rondestvedt and Griepentrog would be unable to duplicate their play from the first match, falling 2-6 to the visiting Fighting Scots, with two and three doubles also losing to give the visitors the doubles point. However, Ripon fought back in singles, with Griepentrog,
Isabella Engstrom (Ripon, Wis., Ripon HS) and
Ella Clark (Columbus, Wis., Columbus HS) winning in straight sets at two singles, three singles, and six singles. The doubles point proved too important, as Monmouth took down the other three singles flights, ending Ripon's day with a 3-4 loss.
Ripon women's tennis returns to action Saturday, September 19, for a pair of conference matches against Grinnell and Cornell. The Pioneers concluded the 2025-26 season ranked #25 nationally, while the Rams finished on a #55 national ranking.
