DUBUQUE, Iowa – The Loras College women's tennis team begins its 2024 campaign as hosts to the Ripon College Red Hawks at the Tucker Tennis Courts on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. 

The Duhawks look to sustain their success from the 2023 season, where they finished third in the American Rivers Conference with a 6-2 mark in league play and 13-9 overall record.

"We have a lot of experience coming back," said head coach Cam Long. "With that much experience, I think our goal should be about the same. We have an opportunity to have another great year."

The experience returning for the Duhawks is highlighted by a core of three seniors, Dorothy Deans, Caroline Hutchinson, and Leia Papanicholas.

"They've been around for a while and have done a lot of good things for this program," said Long. "They've all done well in practice so far and they're going to be a big part of the team again this year."

Long also mentioned Mary Breitbach and Ellie Kalina as key returners.

"Mary was all-conference in singles and doubles last year as a freshman. She did great, and I think having that year of experience will allow her to be even more ready for this year. Ellie has shown a lot of growth and improvement for us. I envision her having a similar role to the one she had last year."

Saturday will mark the fifth meeting between the Red Hawks and the Duhawks. The Purple and Gold took the last match on Oct. 1, 2017, 9-0, and currently hold the series advantage, 3-1.  

 "This is a good group, they have a lot of fun together and make it fun for me also," stated Long. "I think that's one of the reasons we did so well last year. We had really good team chemistry, and everyone just enjoyed it. So, if we can just keep that team chemistry high, I think we'll play very well."

Following their opening match, the Purple and Gold will head south to Davenport, Iowa to take on Saint Ambrose University on Saturday, Sept. 7 at 9 a.m.