Tennis Set to Host UC/Pam Whitehead Invite

// FIRST SERVE
The University of Cincinnati tennis program is set to welcome three teams to campus this weekend as the Bearcats will once again play host to the UC/Pam Whitehead Invitational. The fall event will run Friday and Saturday and will be held on campus at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center. The Bearcats are scheduled to compete against Bowling Green, Chattanooga and Xavier.

// FOLLOW US
Stay connected with UC tennis on Facebook (GoBearcatsWTEN), Twitter (@GoBearcatsWTEN) and Instagram (GoBearcatsWTEN) all year long.

// QUICK SERVES
• This weekend's event is the third of the four fall events scheduled for the Bearcats
• The last time out, the Bearcats played at the Hoosier Classic with freshman Claire Koscielski posting a team-leading 6-1 record, including 3-0 in singles and 3-1 in doubles
• Two other rookies made their debuts as well with Kelli Niehaus and Sofia Bruno each collecting their first collegiate wins

// THE EVENT
The four teams will play a hidden-dual format with teams playing against one another in singles and doubles on separate days with action starting at noon Friday and then again at 10:00 a.m. Saturday. Here is the full schedule of competition:

Friday, October 11
12:00pm • Doubles #1: Cincinnati vs. Chattanooga / Bowling Green vs. Xavier
~1:00pm • Doubles #2: Cincinnati vs. Xavier / Bowling Green vs. Chattanooga
~3:00pm • Singles #1: Cincinnati vs. Bowling Green / Chattanooga vs. Xavier

Saturday, October 12
10:00am • Doubles #3: Cincinnati vs. Bowling Green / Chattanooga vs. Xavier
11:00am • Singles #2: Cincinnati vs. Chattanooga / Bowling Green vs. Xavier
after S#2 • Singles #3: Cincinnati vs. Xavier / Bowling Green vs. Chattanooga

The Bearcats will play doubles against Chattanooga (Noon) and Xavier (1pm) Friday before facing Bowling Green in singles (3pm) that day. On Saturday, the Bearcats will meet BGSU in doubles at 10am with singles action against UTC and XU to follow.

// RESULTS
Results from all matches will posted on GoBearcats.com following the conclusion of play each day. Periodic updates also will be available on the team's Twitter account (@GoBearcatsWTEN).

// NAMESAKE
The annual fall event was renamed last year to honor the late Pam Whitehead, a former UC student-athlete and well-known member of the Greater Cincinnati tennis community who passed away in August 2017. She still holds many records in the Bearcats record books, including the program record for doubles wins in a season with 25 and is second in career doubles victories with 69. She ranks among the program's top performers in career victories in singles play with 58, is among the Top 10 for combined wins in a season with 44 and stands fourth in program history for career combined wins with 127. Whitehead won the women's doubles title in the 1995 Thomas E. Price Metropolitan Tennis Tournament and was a six-time doubles finalist. Whitehead's influence in the community went beyond the court as she was a private business owner involved in the sports medicine field. She worked closely with area universities (including UC) and local professional sports teams serving their respective teams' sports medicine needs. Whitehead was also responsible for pioneering the collaboration of the largest group of national female orthopedic surgeons together as they shared ideas on the latest trends in the sports medicine field. Whitehead was seen as someone who encouraged others, particularly women, to not just exist in their career, but to be leaders in their field. She defined what is meant to be a successful a student-athlete and to be a success far beyond her years in the classroom and on the court.

// LAST TIME • HOOSIER CLASSIC
Six Bearcats competed at the Hoosier Classic (Sept. 27-29) in Bloomington, Ind., with the team combining to post a 10-8 record in singles play and 8-4 mark in doubles. Freshman Claire Koscielski had a memorable debut as she went 3-0 in singles, dropping only one set, while also teaming with fellow rookie Kelli Niehaus to go 3-1 in doubles in her first collegiate action. Fellow freshman Sofia Bruno also made her debut, posting a 1-2 mark in singles before going 3-1 in doubles with Maria Santilli.

// TOTH TALKS
Following action in Bloomington, Head Coach Eric Toth had this to say:
"Overall, Coach Katarina Adamovic and I are pretty pleased with what we are seeing now that everyone has one weekend of play under their belts. The returning players are competing well and have gotten some nice early season results against some quality competition. The newcomers are producing as well and continue to acclimate themselves to their new environment. We are very early in the process and a lot of hard work will continue to be put in daily by each to get us ready for our home invitational in a couple of weekends."

PREVIOUSLY NOTED
// IT'S ACADEMIC
The UC Athletics Department has continued to shine academically with the tennis team being toward the top of the list annually. This past year, the team amassed a cumulative GPA of 3.727 as nine players earned recognition from the league as AAC All-Academic. The team also was honored with the AAC Team Academic Excellence Award which is given annually to the team with the highest GPA in the league in each sport. The tennis program was one of five UC programs to have the highest GPA in their respective sport for the 2018-19 academic year.

// HELLO! MY NAME IS...
The program welcomed a trio of newcomers to the courts this year, including Sofia Bruno (Brolo, Sicily, Italy), Claire Koscielski (Indianapolis/Cathedral HS) and Kelli Niehaus (Cincinnati/Mount Notre Dame HS). Bruno comes to Cincinnati after winning a pair of regional U16 titles in Italy while also playing in the main draw of several Italian championship events. Koscielski won a state doubles title for Cathedral while helping her team to a pair of Indiana crowns while also posting a record of 101-0 in singles competition. Niehaus was a four-time state qualifier in singles in Ohio and was the runner-up in 2018 while also winning the Midwest Closed Level 1 U18 doubles title that year as well. All three will be available to play for UC starting this fall.

// WELCOME!
Another new face to the program comes in the form of Ben Adams, who joined the team as a volunteer coach. Adams brings a wealth of coaching experience as he previously was the head coach of the men's and women's programs at the University of Pikeville for three years. Adams has been on campus already as he currently serves as an adjunct professor in sport administration at UC.

// NEXT TIME OUT
The final fall event of the 2019-20 slate awaits the Bearcats next week as they will venture to Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Middle Tennessee State University for the 2019 ITA Ohio Valley Region Championships. The tournament will take place October 17-21 at the home of the Blue Raiders with draws for singles and doubles coming out early next week.