No. 33 Hope (Mich.) tops No. 40 Women's Tennis 5-1 in First Round of NCAA III Tournament

No. 33 Hope (Mich.) tops No. 40 Women's Tennis 5-1 in First Round of NCAA III Tournament
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May 7, 2026

| NCAA III Women's Tennis Tournament Site |

SAINT LOUIS, Mo. — No. 33 Hope (Mich.) defeated the No. 40-ranked Ohio Northern women's tennis team 5-1 in the First Round of the NCAA III Tournament on a beautiful sunny Thursday.

The Polar Bears made their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the program's seventh overall.

The Basics

  • Records: #40 Ohio Northern (18-5 Overall), #33 Hope (Mich.) (17-7 Overall).
  • Venue: Tao Tennis Center - Saint Louis, Mo.
  • The match finished 5-1 as singles courts 2 and 3 were completed simultaneously.

Match Highlights

  • Sophomore Lauren Okrainec (Ingersoll, ON, Canada/Ingersoll Collegiate) and freshman Amy Grace Beebe (Hudson/Cuyahoga Valley Christian) won 6-1 at No. 3 doubles for Ohio Northern.
  • Sophomore Leah Schleibaum (West Chester/Lakota West) won 6-3, 6-4 at No. 6 singles to make it 2-1.
  • Hope won the doubles point by taking courts 1 and 2, then captured singles courts 1, 2, 3 and 4 to clinch the match.

Notables

  • Ohio Northern is now 3-7 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play.
  • In tournament play, the matches are played to completion, where the match is stopped as soon as a team reaches four team points.
  • ONU won its third consecutive OAC Tournament title and its second straight OAC Regular Season title this season.
  • Freshman Audrey Austin (Perry) was leading 3-6, 6-1, 3-2 at No. 5 singles when the match was completed.
  • The Flying Dutch lead the all-time series with the Polar Bears by a 4-1 margin, including a 2-0 mark in NCAA III Tournament play.
  • Senior Abby Cruser (Pendleton, Ind./Pendleton Heights) led the Polar Bears this season with 38 victories, going a team-best 23-9 in singles and 15-13 in doubles.
  • Senior Jamie Hurst (Granger, Ind./Penn) is second with a 20-10 singles mark.
  • Senior Jenna Bell (Latrobe, Pa.) has a team-best 20 doubles wins.
  • Okrainec and Beebe each have 18 doubles wins and sophomore Caroline Robinson (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) is 16-6 in doubles play.
  • Cruser is 138-82 overall in her career. She is 5th all-time in ONU history with 79 singles wins and is ninth with 138 overall wins.
  • Bell is 137-80 overall in her career. She ranks 10th all-time with 137 overall wins.
  • Hurst is 124-67 overall in her career. Her 72 singles wins puts her eighth all-time in ONU history in that category.
  • Ohio Northern is in its 53rd season of women's tennis with a 671-280-1 record, a winning percentage of .705.
  • Fourth-year head coach Sean Swisher is 71-21 at the helm of the ONU women's tennis team, a winning percentage of .772.

Up Next

  • Season complete.