Women’s Tennis
The No. 13 Azusa Pacific women’s tennis team is entering its first season as a full NCAA Division II member, but with a new look.
For the first time in its 20 years of existence, the program has a new head coach, David Goodman, who takes the helm while Mark Bohren remains on board as the director of tennis.
The Cougars have also added six new faces to the roster, four freshmen and two sophomore transfers from NCAA Division I programs. They also return four players from the 2014 team, which went 22-8 en route to the NCCAA Championship match.
The team will be led by Natalie Johnson, who will play No. 1 singles and doubles. As a freshman last year, she became the first player in program history to record 41 wins in a single season in doubles and singles combined.
Danae Ingwaldson will play primarily at No. 3 singles while also being a fixture in the doubles lineup. The senior captain has collected 34 of her 50 career doubles victories at the No. 1 position.
Ingwaldson and Johnson combine to make the No. 17 doubles pairing in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings.
Valeriia Kashina will be a key addition to the Cougars’ lineup. The senior transferred from Southeast Missouri State, where she played No. 1 singles at the Division I program. She was ranked No. 33 in Division II in the preseason rankings and will play No. 2 singles for the Cougars.
Azusa Pacific also added true freshman Jackie Resler, who in her first week as a Cougar won all three of her singles matches to earn PacWest Player of the Week honors. Sierra Troxel is the other addition who will see significant playing time after having a successful freshman season at Lipscomb, playing Division I opponents there.
After being one of the youngest players on the team each of the last few years, Lindsey Yeom will take more of a leadership role on the team as a junior. She collected 50 wins between singles and doubles in her first two years at APU.
The team won’t have to travel much this year, with every regular-season match played in Southern California. However, the Cougars still have a very tricky schedule, facing three of the top six teams in the nation along with three other teams ranked in the top 25 at least once date each.
Men’s Tennis
The Azusa Pacific men’s tennis team is turning to a similar formula for success as it looks to convert its No. 13 preseason ranking into a spot in the NCAA Division II National Tournament after consecutive NCCAA National Championships. The team returns eight players who were part of those championship teams.
Junior Jan Meyer will fill the No. 1 singles and doubles duties for the Cougars, winning 42 matches last year at those positions. He is ranked No. 7 in the country in the ITA preseason rankings and No. 1 in the West Region after winning 45 out of 49 singles matches to start his career.
Senior Ben Eger will return to action this year, playing No. 2 singles after redshirting last season. As a junior in 2013, he went 25-1 in singles playing at No. 3 and No. 4. He is ranked No. 9 in the nation after taking fifth place in the ITA/USTA Small College National Tournament. He will also play at No. 2 doubles.
Senior Gary Yam will be another key veteran presence for the Cougars. The native of Hong Kong has won over 100 matches in his career and will pair with Meyer as the No. 1 doubles team, while playing an important role in the bottom half of the singles lineup. Yam, Meyer and Eger have 297 career wins entering the season.
The 2014 PacWest Conference Newcomer of the Year, Pascal Engel, will partner with Eger in doubles and bounce around the singles lineup. Alan Leahy and Tomas Aranguiz will also move around a lot in the order, but still play key roles in singles for the Cougars while trying to earn playing time in doubles.
Azusa Pacific has a packed schedule, facing top teams from Division II and III along with the NAIA while also facing some Division I opponents.
In the middle of March, the Cougars will have to go through the gauntlet, facing Armstrong, Hawai`i Pacific and Army on consecutive days. Both Armstrong and Hawai`i Pacific are ranked in Division II’s top five.
The matches are part of a stretch featuring eight matches in nine days when the Cougars will have to rely on some added depth.
Sophomore transfer Shepherd Newcomb will play a particularly crucial part in the doubles action for Azusa Pacific, and true freshman Cameron Backman will see some playing time in singles. Randal Hseih and Sasha Kingsley also add to the team’s depth of talent.
APU’s next home match is Feb. 19 against Western New Mexico.