Women’s Tennis Team is Sweet 16-Bound
It’s been a storybook season for Rockhurst University’s women’s tennis team, and like a lot of good stories, one of redemption.
In 2024, the squad fell to the University of Indianapolis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament and narrowly missed out on a NCAA tournament bid. Jamie McDonald, head coach for the team, said that loss helped motivate the team coming into its next season.
“There was certainly motivation to not let it happen again in 2025,” he said. “We believed that we would be here in the postseason.”
The team would post a 16-5 record en route to a rematch for the GLVC title against University of Indianapolis. This time, they came out on top 4-3 for the program’s first-ever GLVC title.
“This year, we truly believed in ourselves, and that made everything possible,” said junior Sofia Valdespino.
With the GLVC title win, the squad also punched its ticket to the NCAA tournament, traveling to Illinois for the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional competition, where after a 4-2 win over the University of Findlay they once again faced off against UIndy, fresh off an upset victory over No. 2-seeded Grand Valley State University. That match would come down to the wire, with the Hawks winning a series of tiebreakers to move on to the Sweet 16 in Florida. For the players, it was the culmination of a season marked by a sense that they could handle whatever came their way.
“There was definitely a moment when I felt nervous, but at the same time, I had so much trust in my teammates,” Valdespino said. “I knew they were giving everything they had. They’re true fighters, and I admire them deeply. What went through my mind was that we were going to do this. We had worked way too hard not to.”
McDonald said he had faith his team had what it takes to win.
“We knew that they would come ready to compete, so it was a matter of keeping our intensity where it needed to be and not letting off the gas as the match went on,” he said. “We continued to ask our players to focus on effort and attitude from first point to last.”
McDonald was also recognized as GLVC Coach of the Year, an honor he said reflects not just his effort, but that of his team and his fellow coaches.
“I wouldn't be receiving this award if it weren't for the efforts of our student-athletes,” he said. “Over the last few years, Coach Ryan Moody and I have been continuing to push this group and are proud of what they've done so far, with even more left to prove in this season and beyond.”
On Monday, the Hawks will travel to Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs, Florida, to play Wednesday in the Round of 16 at the NCAA D-II Women's Tennis Championship for the first time in school history.
