Freshman Audrey Austin rallies for clinching 3-set victory as Women's Tennis edges Connecticut College 4-3
March 11, 2026
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Freshmen Audrey Austin (Perry) rallied for a 3-set victory at No. 5 singles with the clinching win to help the Ohio Northern women's tennis team to a 4-3 victory over Connecticut College on Wednesday on the third day of its spring break trip to Florida.
The Basics
- Records: Ohio Northern (8-2 Overall), Connecticut College (2-4 Overall)
- Venues: Oak Street Park - Kissimmee, Fla.
Match Highlights
- With ONU leading 3-2, Austin rallied for a 5-7, 7-6(1), 10-7 victory at No. 5 singles to give ONU a 4-2 lead and clinch the team's seventh consecutive win.
- Northern won the doubles point by sweeping all three doubles courts.
- Sophomore Leah Schleibaum (West Chester/Lakota West) won 6-4, 6-1 at No. 6 singles to put the Polar Bears up 2-0.
- The Camels then won at Nos. 4 and 1 singles to tie the match at 2-2.
- Senior Abby Cruser (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) won 7-6, 7-4 at No. 3 singles to give Northern a 3-2 lead.
- After Austin's clincher, CC won at No. 2 singles to end the match at 4-3.
- Cruser and senior Jamie Hurst (Granger, Ind./Penn) won 6-3 at No. 1 doubles.
- Senior Jenna Bell (Latrobe, Pa.) and sophomore Caroline Robinson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) won 6-3 at No. 2 doubles.
- Sophomore Lauren Okrainec (Ingersoll, ON, Canada/Ingersoll Collegiate) and freshman Amy Grace Beebe (Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) won 7-6(4) at No. 3 doubles.
Notables
- Thus far this season, Cruser leads the Polar Bears with 21 wins, going a team-best 13-6 in singles and 8-10 in doubles.
- Hurst and Schleibaum are second with 12 singles wins each.
- Bell has a team-best 10 doubles wins.
- Bell is 121-72 overall in her career.
- Cruser is 121-76 overall in her career.
- Hurst is 108-61 overall in her career.
- Ohio Northern is in its 53rd season of women's tennis with a 661-277-1 record, a winning percentage of .704.
- Fourth-year head coach Sean Swisher is 61-18 at the helm of the ONU women's tennis team, a winning percentage of .772.
Up Next
- The Polar Bears will wrap their spring break schedule on Thursday at 8:30 am against Anderson (Ind.) at Oak Street Park in Kissimmee, Fla.
