The #7 Middlebury women’s tennis team opens the spring portion of its schedule on Friday, February 27, against #4 Pomona-Pitzer. The sides square off in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Indoor Nationals hosted by Sewanee, the University of the South. The program returns seven players and adds two new faces to the fold.

Elsie Van Wieren comes back after an excellent rookie season. Playing primarily at #2, the Panther tallied 13 singles victories alongside a 16-4 mark in doubles action. She was named an ITA All-American in both singles and doubles and the NESCAC Rookie of the Year. The All-NESCAC First-Team honoree in singles and Second-Team doubles recipient also represented the squad at the NCAA Singles Championship.

Lulu Wu secured wins in six of the final eight dual matches a season ago, posting a 14-4 effort in singles and 16-3 in doubles. Wu earned All-NESCAC Second-Team honors as an individual. The senior posted a 6-1 mark in solo action and five doubles wins with three different partners last fall.

Charlotte McCann will serve as one of Middlebury’s captains this year. She sported a 9-2 mark and had a team-high five-match winning streak to end the spring. The Panther tallied six of her nine victories at #5 and #6 combined.

Gusty Beveridge and Elizabeth Doak look to bolster the Middlebury lineup. Beveridge posted a 4-0 dual match record and had nine victories in her initial campaign. She was one of five Panthers to go undefeated in NESCAC play (3-0). Doak had a combined 15-4 record over singles and doubles in her first year and ended last fall on a two-match winning streak.

The duo of Ananya Annapantula and Anna Lardner close out the returners. Annapantula closed last season with wins in her final three singles matches and had 10 doubles victories. Lardner rounds out the captains and looks to build on a 4-0 record in singles last spring. She also had a strong fall campaign, posting a combined 10-6 mark (4-3 singles, 6-3 doubles) to start the year.

Leavitt begins her second season as the head coach. Assistant coach Sam Concannon joins the staff for his initial campaign.