No. 20 Denison tops No. 39 Women's Tennis in battle of national powers

No. 20 Denison tops No. 39 Women's Tennis in battle of national powers
Live Results Box Score
April 25, 2026

GRANVILLE — No. 20-ranked Denison outlasted the No. 39-ranked Ohio Northern women's tennis team 6-1 in a battle of nationally-ranked teams on Saturday.

The Basics

  • Records: #39 Ohio Northern (16-4 Overall), #20 Denison (16-5 Overall).
  • Venue: Denison Tennis Courts - Granville, Ohio.

Match Highlights

  • The match was competitive throughout, with the Polar Bears winning the No. 6 singles court and the No. 2 doubles court.
  • sophomore Leah Schleibaum (West Chester/Lakota West) won 6-3, 6-2 at No. 6 singles to score ONU's point.
  • Senior Jenna Bell (Latrobe, Pa.) and sophomore Caroline Robinson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) won 6-2 at No. 2 doubles.
  • Bell and freshman Audrey Austin (Perry) dropped tight 3-set matches at Nos. 1 and 5 singles, respectively.
  • DU took the doubles point by winning courts 1 and 3. 

Notables

  • ONU won its second consecutive OAC Regular Season title on Wednesday and will be the No. 1 seed in the OAC Tournament May 1-2 at Mason, Ohio.
  • Denison leads the all-time series with ONU by a 5-0 margin.
  • Thus far this season, senior Abby Cruser (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) leads the Polar Bears with 36 victories, going a team-best 21-8 in singles and 15-12 in doubles.
  • Senior Jamie Hurst (Granger, Ind./Penn) is second with an 18-9 singles mark.
  • Bell has a team-best 18 doubles wins.
  • Cruser is 136-80 overall in her career. She is 5th all-time in ONU history with 77 singles wins and is ninth with 134 overall wins.
  • Bell is 135-78 overall in her career. Her 68 singles wins leaves her just two wins short from cracking the school's top-10 in that category. She ranks 10th all-time with 135 overall wins.
  • Hurst is 121-65 overall in her career. Her 70 singles wins puts her tied for eighth all-time in ONU history in that category.
  • Ohio Northern is in its 53rd season of women's tennis with a 669-279-1 record, a winning percentage of .705.
  • Fourth-year head coach Sean Swisher is 69-20 at the helm of the ONU women's tennis team, a winning percentage of .775.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears will return to action May 1 at the OAC Tournament semifinals at 1 pm at the Lindner Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.