Coaches Select Rose-Hulman as HCAC Women’s Tennis Favorite

2011 HCAC Women's Tennis Schedule (click here)

GREENWOOD, IN – Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's women's tennis team has been selected as the front runner to win the 2011 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In a poll of the ten HCAC head coaches, the defending champion Engineers received a total of 96 points and eight first place votes.

Transylvania University placed second in the poll with 87 points and the final two first place votes, while Manchester College is picked to finish third in the conference standings with 73 points.  Anderson University (67 points), Franklin College (61), Hanover College (58), Earlham College (43), College of Mount St. Joseph (33), Defiance College (19), and Bluffton University (13) round out the poll.

The Engineers are coming off a 14-5 season and 8-0 conference record in 2010, claiming their first conference championship. RHIT won the HCAC Tournament and fell in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Sewanee, ending their season.

Coach Dan Hopkins returns one First-Team All-HCAC selection to the Rose lineup this fall.  Sophomore Marie Stettler (Edgerton, Wis./Edgerton Senior) notched an 8-0 record at No. 3 and 4 singles, while adding a 3-3 mark at the No. 1 doubles position.  The Engineers also return a host of players that earned Honorable Mention All-HCAC honors last season.  Junior Sage Sackett (Kalamazoo, Mich./Mattawan) earned a 5-3 record at No. 2 singles and a 3-3 mark at No. 2 doubles.  Sackett teamed with fellow junior Melissa Montgomery (Alexandria, Ind./Monroe) at No. 2 doubles last fall as Montgomery held a 5-1 singles mark at the No. 4 position.  Sophomore Colleen Stevenson (Bolton, Mass./Nashoba Regional) finished her freshman campaign with an impressive 7-1 mark at No. 5 singles to earn honorable mention honors.

Transylvania will look to challenge the Engineers for the HCAC crown this fall and earn the school's second women's tennis title.  The Pioneers return HCAC Most Valuable Player Kelsey Fulkerson (Lexington, Ky./Dunbar) and First-Team All-HCAC member Stephanie Townsend (Goshen, Ky./North Oldham) to the fold in 2011.  Fulkerson completed her junior season with a 14-0 mark in league matches, going 7-0 at both No. 1 singles and doubles.  Townsend earned a 5-1 record at No. 3 and 4 singles and went 7-0 at No. 2 doubles.

Manchester College finished fourth last fall behind Rose, Transy, and Franklin and have been selected to finish third by the coaches this season.  The Spartans return one First-Team All-HCAC member and a host of Honorable Mention All-HCAC selections.  Senior April Erxleben (Decatur, Ind./Bellmont) led the Spartans at the No. 1 singles and doubles position, earning a 2-4 mark in singles and a 2-5 record in doubles.  Sophomore Brandy Leeper (Bremen, Ind./H.S.) held the best record for the black and gold last fall, going 11-3 overall in conference matches to earn honorable mention honors as a freshman.

The 2011 women's tennis season is set to begin on September 1.

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