The men's and women's tennis teams will hit the road this weekend for a pair of tournaments that will have both facing off against nationally ranked opponents.
Tabbed No. 19 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's most recent rankings, the men return to action Friday at the Great Lakes Colleges Association Championships. The Tigers (11-3) garnered the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will face the winner of a first-round match between Hope College and Oberlin College.
Despite the withdrawal of Kenyon College (No. 7) earlier this week, the tournament will still feature three ranked teams: No. 17 Carnegie Mellon University and No. 25 Denison University. The Tigers earned a third-place finish at last year's tournament.
"It's a really big weekend for us," said junior Michael Rardon. "We'll play a lot of nationally ranked teams, and there will be NCAA implications in a lot of matches."
The squad is coming off of a spring break trip to Hilton Head, S.C., during which it went 3-1 with wins over Bethel College (Kan.), Carleton College and the University of St. Thomas. The trip also included a tough 4-5 loss to the University of Chicago in which DePauw swept doubles play but earned just one point in singles.
Although Rardon cited mental toughness as an area the Tigers' hope to improve, he said players are settling into their spots in the lineup. Rardon has gone 8-6 this spring at No. 1 singles, while freshman Sam Miles is on a four-match win streak at the No. 2 position. The tandem of Rardon and senior Hunter Schouweiler has provided consistent performances at No. 2 doubles.
"We have a young team all around, and everybody's starting to come together," Rardon said.
Meanwhile, the No. 14 women's squad will head to Madison, Wis. this weekend for the Midwest Invitational. Fourth-seeded DePauw opens tournament action Friday at 10 a.m. against No. 5 seed Washington University at St. Louis.
With a record of 8-6, the Tigers will be in elite company at Madison. Third-ranked University of Chicago, sixth-ranked Denison University, 11th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College, 27th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 29 Carleton College are among the other slated participants. DePauw finished fourth at last year's tournament, while the University of Chicago claimed the championship title.
"It's a lot of tough matches in a short period of time," said senior Tricia Wilks. "I think we're capable of winning against any team that's going to be there this weekend. If we continue to get better every match, that is a realistic goal for us."
The Tigers enter the weekend on a four-match win streak after going 4-1 over spring break and posting a 9-0 win against Rose-Hulman College March 30. Senior Janelle Arita has won four of her last five matches from the No. 1 singles position, while she and junior Kelly Gebert have been equally impressive at the No. 1 doubles spot. Wilks says the squad has also received strong contributions from its younger players.
"I think spring break was really good for us, both on the court and off the court ... There were teams that we beat that probably a month ago we wouldn't have," Wilks said. "Everyone is really excited about how we're playing."