The 2024 Kalamazoo College women's tennis team began pre-season workouts last week and will start its season on Feb. 10 by hosting Wooster. After winning their first MIAA Championship since 2007, the Hornets will look to repeat as regular season champs and take the MIAA Tournament Title as well.
Schedule Breakdown
- All four matches in February will be at home for Kalamazoo by hosting Wooster (Feb. 10), Oberlin (Feb. 11), Augustana (Feb. 18), and Anderson (Feb. 24).
- The Hornets will then hit the road for the first three matches in March at Kenyon (Mar. 1), Case Western (Mar. 2), and Denison (Mar. 3).
- The MIAA season will begin at home against Albion (Mar. 16) before playing three neutral site matches in Florida over spring break against Union (Mar. 22), DePauw (Mar. 24), and Whitworth (Mar. 27).
- Kalamazoo will return to MIAA play in April with two home matches against Calvin (Apr. 2) and Adrian (Apr. 6).
- The Hornets will then go on the road for four matches at Alma (Apr. 7), Saint Mary's (Apr. 13), Olivet (Apr. 14), and Hope (Apr. 20).
- The regular season will wrap up with one final home match against Trine (Apr. 27).
Roster Breakdown
- Kalamazoo returns nine players from the 2023 season and will add two new members for 11 heading into 2024.
- The two seniors will lead a team of three juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen.
Returning Statistical Leaders
- Senior Maddie Hurley returns after going 9-8 (5-2 MIAA) in #4 singles and 10-6 (5-2 MIAA) in #2 doubles last season. She will look to help fill the shoes of Meghan Killmaster, Renee Torres, and Sophie Zhuang, the top three players from last season as seniors.
- Ivy Walker also returns after finishing 9-8 (3-2 MIAA) in #6 singles and 7-11 (4-2 MIAA) in #3 doubles as a sophomore last season.
- In her first collegiate season last year, Eleni Bougioukou went 10-4 (6-1 MIAA) in #5 singles and will look to contribute more in doubles matches this season.
- Another junior returning with experience is Rebecca Elias, who went 8-7 (5-2 MIAA) in #3 doubles last season and will compete for a singles spot this season.
Stepping Up
- Anna Buck (junior), Soussana Kimbouris (sophomore), Regan McKee (sophomore), and Molly Stevison (sophomore) will look for expanded roles after competing in limited fashion last season. The four have played a combined 11 singles and doubles matches in their collegiate career.
- Senior Olivia Wolfe returns to the fold after studying abroad last season. Juliana Pullen and Tillie Sheldon will look to gain experience in their first years of collegiate tennis.
Head Coach Mark Murphy
Coach Murphy is entering his 15th season as the head coach of the Hornets. His teams have compiled an overall winning percentage of .561 (151-118) during his time at Kalamazoo. Since taking over the Hornets, Murphy has been named Regional Coach of the Year twice (2014 and 2016) and led the Hornets to an MIAA Regular Season Championship for the first time in 16 years after going 7-0 in 2023. In addition, he has coached players to 17 All-MIAA First Team selections, 13 All-MIAA Second Team selections, and five MIAA MVPs. Before arriving at Kalamazoo, Murphy spent 11 years as associate head men's and women's tennis coach at his alma mater, Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Quoting Coach Murphy
"Overall, I see the entire roster contributing to our success this year. We graduated five seniors from last year who had a lot of match experience, the MIAA MVP, and three all-MIAA players. However, I am confident that our team and program can compete for another MIAA Championship. We have a good schedule with several nationally and regionally ranked teams that will challenge us and help us be prepared for MIAA competition."