GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- The Tusculum University women's tennis team and new head coach Matt Frost will compete in four events this fall, beginning this weekend at Lincoln Memorial University.
The Pioneers finished 11-8 during the spring of 2021 and went 7-5 in South Atlantic Conference competition. Tusculum will move forward despite losing its top three singles players to graduation, including All-American Annie McCullough and her sister, Caitlin McCullough, along with five-year starter Julia Lopez.
Even with the losses of the McCulloughs and Lopez, Frost is optimistic that his younger players will step up to be competitive for the Pioneers. He sees the fall schedule as an chance for those players to see action on the court in preparation for the 2022 spring season.
"Being able to play in the fall this year is going to be huge. It is going to provide opportunities for our younger players who are brand new or did not feature during last year's spring season to gain experience at the collegiate level," said Frost, who was hired over the summer after stints as an assistant coach at New Mexico, Lenoir-Rhyne and his alma mater, Drake. "I expect the team to bring spring intensity to this season's fall competition."
The lone senior on the roster is Emilie Hansen (Hvidovre, Denmark), who was second-team All-SAC in doubles last spring after going 18-2 in doubles play and 12-0 in conference action. Hansen was 12-9 in singles in the spring and has career records of 35-31 in singles and 43-18 in doubles. Junior Rory Church (Kennesaw, Ga.) was 7-6 in singles play and a perfect 6-0 in doubles last spring, and is 13-11 in her career in singles play for the Pioneers.
Tusculum unveiled another set of twins on the women's tennis world last spring, as the Loretz sisters each made an impact for the Pioneers. Paulina Loretz was 9-9 in singles and 6-3 in doubles for the Pioneers, while Valentina Loretz had a 2-4 record in singles play and a 2-1 mark in doubles. The Loretz sisters teamed up twice last spring and earned a pair of doubles wins.
Frost is eager to see freshmen Elodie Baechler (La Rippe, Switzerland) and Leonie Floeth (Toenisvorst, Germany) take the court for the first time as Pioneers this fall. Both players are expected to be anchors in the Tusculum lineup in the spring.
Rounding out the fall roster are junior Chelsea Daugherty (Mosheim, Tenn.) and sophomores Johanna Palacio (Mar del Plata, Argentina) and Stefanie Rossmeier (Pocking, Germany). Palacio saw the most action last season for the Pioneers, going 1-4 in singles and 1-3 in doubles with both victories coming in conference competition.
"I want to give a shout out to Annie McCullough, who has been a huge help already and will continue to do so volunteering her time to help us this semester while I recruit a graduate assistant," Frost added. "Having a Tusculum legend giving up her free time to help is invaluable."
Following the Lincoln Memorial Invitational, the Pioneers will head to Sumter, South Carolina for the annual ITA Southeast Regional tournament from Sept. 24-27. Hansen, Baechler, Floeth and Paulina Loretz are entered in the tournament in both singles and doubles.
Tusculum will round out the fall by competing in the Carson-Newman Eagle Invitational at Knoxville on Oct. 22-23, followed by a dual match at North Greenville on Oct. 29.