LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to an 8-1 nonconference victory over Lake Forest College on Sunday.
Lawrence swept the singles matches and won at Nos. 1 and 3 doubles. Christina Schaupp pulled off the most impressive win of the day with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at No. 4 singles.
It’s one thing to have lofty goals, but it’s quite another to have the talent to make those goals a reality.
The Lawrence University women’s tennis team has some big goals for this season, but the Vikings may just have the talent to pull it off. Led by a solid group of returning players and an influx of talented newcomers, the Vikings are off to a 5-0 start.
“We want to make a pretty good dent at the (Intercollegiate Tennis Association Regional) later this month and let other schools know that we’re not messing around,” Lawrence coach Kevin Girard said. “After that, our goal is to win the Midwest Conference and make the NCAAs.”
Lawrence, which hasn’t won a MWC title since taking back-to-back crowns in 1985 and 1986, finished fourth in the league a season ago. The Vikings also captured the No. 1 doubles title with Beth Larson and Jennifer Roesch. Along with Larson at No. 1 singles and Roesch at No. 2, the Vikings also returned Gayatri Malhotra at No. 3 singles and Carla Schmidt at No. 4.
Three newcomers, freshmen Christina Schaupp and Hannah Geoffrey and sophomore Polly Dalton, have taken over the bottom half of the lineup.
“Once our recruiting class was established, Beth, Jenni and Guyatri worked pretty hard over the summer because they knew they were going to have to fight for their spots in the lineup.” Girard said. “The freshmen have pushed the upperclassmen and vice versa. It’s worked out pretty well. It’s a good dynamic.”
Schaupp, a former star at Green Bay Notre Dame, Geoffrey, Larson and Malhotra have yet to lose a singles match this season. Schaupp, who was named the MWC Player of the Week, has also teamed with Geoffrey for a 4-0 record in doubles.
“I knew we had a good squad going in, but I didn’t know what to expect from the newcomers,” Girard said. “We’re looking pretty good. I’m excited.”
The Vikings have a total of seven new players on the squad, and Girard said he would be confident putting anyone in the lineup.
“When we did challenge matches, they all beat each other up,” Girard said. “It’s not just those three (Schaupp, Geoffrey and Dalton) – we definitely get pushed from the back end and work our way up. They’re all very talented. It’s a nice lineup.”
Girard’s team sent a statement in the first match of the season with 5-4 victory at Carthage College, a team that has won three College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin titles in the last decade. It was Schaupp who clinched the victory by winning a three-set match at No. 4 singles.
“It meant a lot,” Girard said of the win over Carthage. “It’s the first time I’ve played Carthage since I’ve been here. … It was nice to go in there and sneak out a victory.”
And the opposition definitely took notice. It was the first thing out of Edgewood College coach Ben Oestreich’s mouth when the Vikings traveled there a few days later.
“We went to play Edgewood, and their coach said, ‘I see you guys knocked off Carthage,’ ” Girard said. “It’s all good. We’ve got to beat the teams we’re playing right now and our goal is still to win the conference.”
A helping hand
When storms ravaged large parts of Appleton on Sept. 2, the Lawrence football team turned out to lend a hand.
About 25 members of the football squad responded to a volunteering opportunity to clean up limbs and brush near the campus. The Vikings were able to help clean up the yards of about 15 homes in the areas around the campus.
“We know that some of the people we met had never been to a LU game, but they will be there (in the future),” said senior defensive lineman Eric Follett.
Stevens runs to honor
Lawrence cross country star Sam Stevens was named the MWC Performer of the Week after winning the St. Norbert College Tom Barry Invitational on Sept. 3.
The junior from Suamico covered the four-mile course at Colburn Park in 21:02.7 and won by 13 seconds. It was the first individual title for Stevens, who has earned All-MWC honors in each of his first two seasons. Stevens led Lawrence to a third-place finish in the team standings.
Editor’s Note: Inside LU Athletics is a weekly notes package written by Lawrence University Sports Information Director Joe Vanden Acker. It will feature teams and individual players, recap weekly awards or highlights and take a look at what’s ahead for the Vikings.
Lawrence University freshman women’s tennis player Christina Schaupp turned in a perfect week and was named the Midwest Conference Player of the Week.
Schaupp (Green Bay, Wis./Notre Dame) went 3-0 on the week in singles and doubles as Lawrence swept a trio of nonconference matches.
In Lawrence’s 5-4 victory over a very good Carthage College team, Schaupp clinched the match with a 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-1 victory at No. 4 singles. She also teamed with Hannah Geoffrey (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East) for an 8-6 victory at No. 3 doubles.
In a 9-0 victory over Monmouth College, Schaupp beat Tessa Ginn 6-0, 6-0 at No. 4 singles and teamed with Geoffrey for an 8-2 win at No. 3 doubles. In a 9-0 victory over Knox College, Schaupp beat Charlotte Garvin 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4 singles and picked up an 8-1 win at No. 3 doubles.
Through play on Monday, Schaupp has a 5-0 record in singles and a 4-0 mark in doubles.
Lawrence returns to action on Sunday when it travels to Lake Forest College.
MADISON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team ran its shutout streak to four with a 9-0 nonconference win over Edgewood College on Monday.
The Vikings (5-0) have posted consecutive shutouts over Monmouth, Knox, Dominican (Ill.) and Edgewood.
Lawrence dropped only one set in the nine matches. Freshmen Christina Schaupp and Hannah Geoffrey completed a dominating day by both winning their second singles matches of the day by 6-0, 6-0 scores.
Lawrence University 9, Dominican University 0
09/05/11 at Fitchburg, Wis. (McKee Farms Park)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Elizabeth Larson (LU) def. Nelson, Elizabeth (DU) 6-0, 6-1 |
| 2. Jennifer Roesch (LU) def. Nowaczyk, Kornelia (DU) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 3. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) def. Taddy, Rachel (DU) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 |
| 4. Christina Schaupp (LU) def. Hereford, Emily (DU) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 5. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Orchanian, Rosemary (DU) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 6. Polly Dalton (LU) def. Berner, Marbeya (DU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Jennifer Roesch/Elizabeth Larson (LU) def. Nelson, Elizabeth/Nowaczyk, Kornelia (DU) 8-0 |
| 2. Polly Dalton/Carla Schmidt (LU) def. Orchanian, Rosemary/LoRusso, Jennifer (DU) 8-2 |
| 3. Christina Schaupp/Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Berner, Marbeya/Budzak, Monica (DU) 8-1 |
MADISON, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team kept its perfect record unblemished on Monday with a 9-0 nonconference win over Dominican (Ill.) University.
The Vikings dropped only one set during the nine matches, and two Lawrence singles players, Christina Schaupp and Hannah Geoffrey, did not lose a game.
Lawrence University 9, Dominican University 0
09/05/11 at Fitchburg, Wis. (McKee Farms Park)
| Singles competition |
| 1. Elizabeth Larson (LU) def. Nelson, Elizabeth (DU) 6-0, 6-1 |
| 2. Jennifer Roesch (LU) def. Nowaczyk, Kornelia (DU) 6-4, 6-2 |
| 3. Gayatri Malhotra (LU) def. Taddy, Rachel (DU) 6-3, 5-7, 10-8 |
| 4. Christina Schaupp (LU) def. Hereford, Emily (DU) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 5. Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Orchanian, Rosemary (DU) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 6. Polly Dalton (LU) def. Berner, Marbeya (DU) 6-3, 6-4 |
| Doubles competition |
| 1. Jennifer Roesch/Elizabeth Larson (LU) def. Nelson, Elizabeth/Nowaczyk, Kornelia (DU) 8-0 |
| 2. Polly Dalton/Carla Schmidt (LU) def. Orchanian, Rosemary/LoRusso, Jennifer (DU) 8-2 |
| 3. Christina Schaupp/Hannah Geoffrey (LU) def. Berner, Marbeya/Budzak, Monica (DU) 8-1 |
GALESBURG, Ill. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team routed Knox College 9-0 in a nonconference match on Saturday.
The Vikings, who are now 3-0 on the season, didn’t drop a set en route to the victory.
MONMOUTH, Ill. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team rolled to a 9-0 nonconference shutout of Monmouth College on Saturday.
The Vikings lost only eight games total in the six singles matches, and three Lawrence players (Beth Larson, Christina Schaupp and Polly Dalton) all posted 6-0, 6-0 victories.
KENOSHA, Wis. — The Lawrence University women’s tennis team opened its season with a 5-4 nonconference victory at Carthage College on Thursday.
The Vikings rallied for the victory by winning four of the six singles matches. Carthage took two of the three doubles matches, Lawrence’s Beth Larson won at No. 1 singles, Gayatri Malhotra won at No. 3, Christina Schaupp won at No. 4 and Hannah Geoffrey won at No. 5.
Lawrence University tennis coach Kevin Girard teamed with his brother to win the Class A doubles championship at the 64th Annual Michigan-Wisconsin Open this past weekend.
Girard and his brother, Brett, beat Rick Halverson and Anders Sandholm 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, to win the championship in Escanaba, Mich.
The Girard brothers, both former standout players at Michigan Tech, beat a team made up of the Michigan Tech assistant coach and one of the Huskies’ current players. The team of Halverson and Sandholm took the opening game of the third set, but the Girards picked up a service break to go up 2-1 and went on to take the decisive final set.
It was the second title of the weekend for Brett Girard, who beat Mark Stinski of Oshkosh, Wis., 7-6, 6-2, in the Class A singles final.
Coach Girard is set to begin his fifth year as Lawrence men’s and women’s coach. Girard’s Vikings have won a combined three Midwest Conference North Division championships. Girard also has coached players to both the men’s and women’s No. 1 singles titles in the conference.
MADISON, Wis. – Lawrence University’s No. 1 doubles team of Beth Larson and Jenny Roesch captured the title Saturday at the Midwest Conference Championships at Nielsen Tennis Stadium.
It was the first doubles title for Larson and Roesch, and the second conference championship for Larson. She won the No. 1 singles title in 2008.
Larson and Roesch became Lawrence’s first doubles champions since Serene Sahar and Susan Klumpner won at No. 2 doubles in 2005. Larson and Roesch are the first Lawrence team to win a No. 1 doubles title since Anita Salzberger and Krin Ringel won in 1988.
Larson and Roesch didn’t drop a set on their way to the title. The Lawrence duo defeated Lake Forest College’s Nonie Carlson and Melika Celebic 6-1, 7-6 (7-1) for the title.
Lawrence also took the consolation title at No. 3 doubles. The team of Kat Valde and Gayatri Malhotra beat Ripon College’s Oliva Wetzel and Alison Thies 10-4 for the consolation crown.
Lawrence’s No. 2 doubles team of Carla Schmidt and Greta Elsass won in the quarterfinals but were eliminated by the eventual champions from Grinnell College in the semifinals.
In Sunday’s singles competition, the Vikings posted a pair of second-place finishes.
For the second consecutive season, Larson finished second at No. 1 singles after a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Celebic of Lake Forest.
At No. 4 singles, Schmidt dropped a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 decision to Grinnell’s Megan Counts in the title match.
Both Roesch at No. 2 and Malhotra at No. 3 were eliminated in the championship semifinals. Valde at No. 5 and Elizabeth Byers at No. 6 both fell in the championship quarterfinals. Both Valde and Byers reached the consolation finals, but Valde was forced to retire and Byers lost 10-8 to Emily Tyl of Knox College.
