This past weekend, the No. 32 Kenyon women’s tennis team secured the regular-season NCAC championship for the fourth time in five seasons after defeating DePauw University. Meanwhile, the men’s team was forced to settle for second place despite winning its final two games against DePauw and Wabash College. 

Women

After a crucial victory against No. 22 Denison University last week, all the Owls had to do against DePauw was win to secure the regular-season title — and win they did. As it has so often done this season, Kenyon took an early 2-1 lead through doubles play. Allaire Berl ’26 and Leni Lazaridou ’26 won the No. 1 matchup 8-1, the pair’s eighth consecutive No. 1 victory, while in the No. 2 matchup, Shadia Amado Aguad ’26 and Lalasa Nagireddy ’25 came out victorious in a close 8-7 (7-4) match. In singles play, the Owls swept the Tigers in straight sets — Lazaridou, Berl, Amado Aguad and Nagireddy all stayed undefeated in the first four matches. For her stellar play against DePauw and Denison, Amado Aguad picked up the NCAC Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Week award. In the No. 5 matchup, Erika Pontillo ’23 prevailed 7-5, 7-5 and in the No. 6 matchup, Irina Beshentseva ’24 dispatched her opponent 6-0, 6-2 to close out a resounding 8-1 win.

In an email to the Collegian, Lazaridou described how it felt to win the regular-season title in her first year at Kenyon: “Securing the regular-season NCAC title was really exciting … It was the reassurance we needed at the most ideal moment and the reward my team deserved for this long term effort and dedication.” Lazaridou also expressed the team’s anticipation of the upcoming weekend. “We are looking forward [to] the beginning of the championship on Saturday, and we hope our game remains as consistent and effective as it has been the entire semester.”

Kenyon, which finished its season with a perfect conference record of 6-0 and an overall record of 16-4, will enter the NCAC Championship tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Championship begins on Friday and will run until Sunday, and the winner will gain an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III National Tournament.

Men

The No. 17 Kenyon men’s tennis team traveled to Indiana to face DePauw and Wabash on two consecutive days and won 7-2 and 9-0, respectively. Against DePauw, the Owls came in hot, riding the momentum of a dominant five-game winning streak. In doubles play, Kenyon took a 2-1 lead. Thomas Kallarakal ’23 and Eric Zhang ’25 won the No. 2 matchup 8-4, while Luis Andres Platas ’23 and Christophe LeBlanc ’25 prevailed in the No. 3 matchup by the same score. Kenyon won five out of the six singles matches, but the Owls had to work for it. Platas was victorious 7-5, 6-4 in a tightly contested No. 2 matchup, while Paulo Pocasangre Kreling ’26 won the No. 4 matchup in a tiebreaker 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4). Kallarakal and Rakkan Audeh ’25 had easier times in their games and won in straight sets. Finally, in the No. 6 matchup, Zhang defeated his Tigers opponent 6-1, 7-5. Kenyon’s win was pivotal as it overtook DePauw in the NCAC standings. 

Against Wabash, the Owls increased their win streak to seven matches with a commanding 9-0 win. After losing the day before, Pocasangre Kreling and Eliezer Gonzalez ’26 won the No. 1 doubles matchup 8-2, while the pairs of Kallarakal and Zhang and Platas and LeBlanc stayed perfect on the weekend. In singles play, Kenyon won every match in straight sets to cap off a successful regular-season finale. 

Kenyon will enter the NCAC Championship tournament as the No. 2 seed with an overall record of 12-9 (6-1 NCAC), one conference win less than No. 1 seed Denison University. The championship begins on April 28 and will run until April 30.