Posted: Jun 09, 2015
In the 2015 season, the Maroons set a new school record for wins in a season with 17 victories. This is the third consecutive season that the Maroons have accomplished this feat, and the second straight for second year head coach Daniel Ragsdale. This is was the third straight ODAC Championship match appearance for the Maroons, which is also the third ODAC title match in program history. Each year, the Maroons fell to Washington & Lee, who was nationally ranked in each of the three years.
The women's tennis team was able to begin their season before their annual spring break trip. Before spring break, they went 3-2 during this small stretch that included ODAC wins against Sweet Briar (8-1) and Bridgewater (8-1).
At Hilton Head the Maroons started off strong by winning their first three games. This extended their winning streak at the time to five, which would be their second longest streak of the season. After dropping two very close matches to Mount Union and Elizabethtown the women's tennis team went on another win streak of four matches. This streak including ODAC wins against Shenandoah (8-1), Guilford (9-0) and Virginia Wesleyan (5-0).
They then met #10 Washintgon & Lee where they were able to win a couple of games, but lost 2-5. After dropping the match to W&L the Maroons were able to go on their longest winning streak of the season by winning their next seven matches. This included victories in five ODAC matches to close out the season as well as two more wins coming at the ODAC Tournament where they beat Hollins (8-1) in the quarterfinals and Randolph-Macon (5-2) in the semifinals.
Unfortunately, the Maroons were unable to take care of #4 Washington & Lee (0-5) in the finals, a team who made it to the third round of the NCAA Tournament. They finished their record-breaking year with 17 wins and a dominating performance in the ODAC by going 8-1.
Two Roanoke College women's tennis players were named to the 2015 All-ODAC Women's Tennis teams, announced Thursday. Sophomore Emma Barker and junior Kristen McDowell were named to the #2 doubles All-ODAC Second Team.
Barker, a native of Roanoke, VA, receives her first All-ODAC nod for her performance this season. McDowell, from High Point, NC, receives her second All-ODAC doubles honor in her RC career. In 2013, McDowell was placed on the All-ODAC Third Team in the #3 spot for women's doubles, and in the same year was also on the All-ODAC second team in the #5 singles spot.
The duo played in 11 total matches together where they achieved a 7-4 overall record and were undefeated in conference with record of 4-0 when slotted in the #2 spot for doubles. When playing in singles matches, Barker finished her individual season at 5-7 and a 4-2 record in conference. McDowell finished her singles season with a record of 5-1 and with a 1-0 record in conference.
