The UW Oshkosh women’s tennis team look to improve off its second straight fourth-place finish in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC).
After going 9-4 (3-3 WIAC) in the 2024-25 season, the Titans improved on their winning percentage from 2023-24, but met the same fate.
Head coach Steve Francour will be working with assistant coach Patrick Schwoerer for the second season together. Since returning to the program in 2022, Francour has helped the Titans accrue a 25-13 (8-9 WIAC) record, which by itself would be the program’s fifth winningest tenure by a head coach in its existence.
Last season started out at the UW-Whitewater Warhawk Invitational, where the Titans placed seventh out of the eight participating teams before bouncing back with two marginal victories against Lawrence University 6-1, and Ripon College, 7-0, at the UW Oshkosh Triangular. The Titans went on to drop two straight after that, losing to UW-La Crosse and Wartburg College (Iowa).
UWO bounced back strong again, with the team rattling off five straight victories two against WIAC opponents, to improve to 7-2 by early October. Ahead of the WIAC championship, the Titans finished out their season on a 2-2 stretch, beating UW-Stout and UW-Stevens Point while losing to UW-Whitewater and UW-Eau Claire. To round out the fall season, UWO placed fifth at the 2024 WIAC Championship, while UWW collected their 18th straight WIAC title.
The Titans fell short of qualifying for the WIAC Team Tournament and NCAA Tournament in the spring half of the season, but did pick up a victory in their only match versus Wisconsin Lutheran College 5-2. Ten letterwinners are returning from last season and will look to lead the team to a WIAC Championship this fall. The team’s two winningest singles competitors, Mana Usui and Olivia Pethan from last season, are amongst the returning athletes, as well as Usui’s doubles partner Kayla Gibbs, who held an overall .63 winning percentage in both forms of competition. The two departees from last year’s squad are Alysa Pattee and
Alessandra Rivera. Pattee went 8-5 in singles competition last year, ranking third on the team in wins, and was a part of the team’s winningest doubles duo pairing alongside Pethan, who went 8-4.
UWO and UWW will kick off WIAC play and begin the season in Whitewater at the Warhawk Outdoor Tennis Courts Aug. 29 at 2 p.m. The Titans will appear at home for the first time Sept. 5 against Ripon College at the Kolf Sports Center Outdoor Tennis Courts.
UWO Tennis Schedule:
Aug. 29 – At UW-Whitewater (2 p.m.)
Aug. 30 – At UW-Whitewater Warhawk Invitational (9 a.m.)
Sep. 2 – At Lawrence University (2 p.m.)
Sep. 5 – VS Ripon College (Kolf) (4:30 p.m.)
Sep. 13 – At UW-La Crosse (1 p.m.)
Sep. 17 – At Marian University (4:30 p.m.)
Sep. 20 – VS St. Norbert College (Kolf) (11 a.m.)
Sep. 26 – VS UW-Stout (Kolf) (4 p.m.)
Oct. 4 – VS UW-Eau Claire (Kolf) (9 a.m.)
Oct. 11 – VS UW-Stevens Point (Kolf) (11 a.m.)
Oct. 19 – At UW-River Falls (Noon)
Oct. 26 – At WIAC Championship in Madison (11 a.m.)
