[Tennis] Tennis Teams Compete Nationally in ITA Oracle Cup

ROME, Georgia – The San Diego Christian men's and women's tennis teams both made appearances in the 2017 ITA Oracle Cup National Tournament last week.

Women's singles, Freshman Sarah Schaerer, came in at 5th place and Women's doubles, Freshman Sarah Urbanek & Sophomore Nadine Geschke, came in at 6th place. Unfortunately, Senior Aliaksandr Meliuk, who won the men's regional singles title, caught a bad flu and had to withdraw in his first round match.

"It was an honor to represent SDC at the ITA Oracle Cup Nationals," head coach Priscilla Jensen said. "It was also the first time for SDC women's tennis in its 4th year of program existence to win the West Regional Tournament and play at the national level against the winners of the other 6 regions in the US. It was a great experience and learned so much playing against the best. Two out of the four players are freshmen without college match experience, so I'm excited to see their development in becoming college players."

Four divisions of collegiate tennis converged on the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. The stakes for the 2017 event were raised, with more student-athletes receiving an opportunity to qualify for the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where they competed in the same tournament as the nation's top Division I players.

Formerly known as the Small College Nationals, the ITA Oracle Cup has history dating back to 1986, and it is the only singles and doubles national championship event for the Division II and NAIA levels. This year, more than 8,000 players took part in a total of 60 regional tournaments to gain entry into the ITA Oracle Cup field.