Sports

Women’s tennis ends Fall season with 2 wins

Matthew Hoyman, Staff Writer

October 22, 2025

Courtesy of Steve Frommell / UWO Athletics – Courtney Carpenter returns the ball to help her and Olivia Pethan (not pictured) pick up a 7-5 victory in the No. 1 doubles match.

The UW Oshkosh women’s tennis team had two matches this past week, falling to UW-La Crosse 7-0 at Hetzel Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Oct. 14, while beating UW-River Falls 5-2 in Minneapolis this past Sunday, Oct. 19.

UWO fell in all three double matches to La Crosse. In match one, UWL’s Tasha Bailey and Shelby Roth bested UWO’s Olivia Pethan and Courtney Carpenter by a final score of 6-4. The Titans’ Kayla Gibbs and Jameson Gregory lost to the Eagles’ Hannah Cady and Maia Samuelson in match two by a score of 6-1. Oshkosh’s Mana Usui and Sarah Schaeffer were defeated 6-0 by La Crosse’s Caitlyn Stadter and Lily Jorgenson.

UWO lost all six singles competitions against UWL. Gibbs won a game in both her sets. Oshkosh’s Usui, Brianna Owen, Cate Gerl and Schaeffer each won a match in their first set.

The UWO women’s team won its match against UW-River Falls 5-2 at the Falcons’ Ramer Field Tennis Courts on Sunday in the Titans’ regualar season finale.

Oshkosh dominated doubles, winning all three matches. The Titan’s Pethan and Courtney won 7-5, Gibbs and Jameson won 6-3 and Usui and Schaeffer won 6-0.

The Titans won four out of six singles tournaments. Usui won 6-2, 6-1, Owens succeeded 5-5, 6-1, Bre Schultz was victorious 7-5, 6-1 and Schaeffer wrapped up singles winning 6-2, 6-1.

Head coach Steven Francour said he thought the win was impressive given the factors at play.

“We had to overcome a long trip, tough conditions (strong wind and low temperatures) and a tough opponent,” Francour said. “It was impressive the way we handled the circumstances and performed at a high level.”

He added that the win also helped the team secure a higher seed for the WIAC Team Tournament in the spring.

The quick turnaround between matches offered challenges, and Francour said the team was unfamiliar with playing on an indoor surface like the match they had against La Crosse, then the next match was outside against River Falls.

“Our preparation is to work and be the best players we can be and compete hard,” Francour said.

Francour said he was proud of how the team responded to adversity.

“We had to be resilient to overcome some injuries, new players in the lineup, and tough opponents,” he said. “The team always worked hard and tried to get better. That’s what a coach wants.”

The Titans will compete at the WIAC Individual Championships in Madison at Nielsen Tennis Stadium Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.