Fordham University Women’s Tennis is at an inflection point entering their 2025 campaign. In 2023, they won the Atlantic 10 championship; in 2024, they were ranked eighth among all collegiate tennis teams in the northeast, performing phenomenally throughout the regular season and falling just short in the A-10 tournament. However, the bulk of their key pieces left the Hawthorn/Rooney tennis courts after earning a diploma or opting for the transfer portal.
Senior Lorraine Bergmann, sophomore Julianne Nguyen and junior Sofie Siem represent the Rams’ only returning players. Luckily, they looked tremendous during the fall competition. The same can be said for Fordham’s five newcomers — three transfers and two freshmen — who have impressed during the fall season’s slew of exhibition tournaments.
The tight-knit eight-woman team, led by coach Michael Sowter entering his sixth year with a 43-20 overall record, got their best taste of competition yet at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s regional tournament. The team took a trip to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing qualifiers on Thursday, Oct. 10, and participating in singles and doubles tournament play on Friday and Saturday.
Among the new faces at Rose Hill is junior Illinois State University transfer Nevena Koleric, who stood out in a talented field. Koleric was the lone Ram to advance to the round of 16 in tournament play, even taking a set from the tourney’s fifth-ranked p.