WTEN Opens 50th Dual Season Friday At Western Michigan

MILWAUKEE - The Marquette University women's tennis team embarks on its 50th season of competition when it travels to Kalamazoo, Michigan to take on Western Michigan on Friday, January 17 in its dual season opener.

50 Seasons of Marquette Women's Tennis

The Marquette women's tennis program begins in its 50th season as a varsity sport this spring, celebrating a continued commitment to excellence, determination, and a championship culture.

In 50 seasons as a varsity sport, the Golden Eagles have accumulated over 500 wins and have made three appearances in the NCAA tournament. The program has won three conference championships and has had four conference player of the year honorees.

Golden Eagle Greats

Ana Fernandez was named the 1999 ITA Midwest Regional Player of the Year during the '99 season when she set the Marquette single season record with 38 singles wins. She broke Marquette's all-time wins record in September of 1998 and finished her career with a school-record 129 singles victories. Fernandez was named Conference USA MVP in 1999 and Conference USA All-Decade in 2005.

Fernandez is also tied for first place in the MU record books for career doubles wins alongside Elisa Penalvo, with 98 career wins. The duo ranked as high as No. 5 in the ITA rankings in 1998-99, which still holds as the highest doubles ranking in Marquette history. The duo qualified for the NCAA Tournament three years in a row, advancing as far as the second round. Both were named First-Team All-Conference USA in the 1998-99 season, and Penalvo was also named to Conference USA All-Decade in 2005. Both Marquette greats were inducted into the MU Hall of Fame in 2006.

Natalija Popovic was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Year in 2018 and concluded her career with BIG EAST Player of the Year honors in 2022. A two-time First-Team All-BIG EAST honoree, Popovic led the Golden Eagles with 16 total victories in singles action as a senior. Popovic finished her career with over 70 total victories, becoming one of the most decorated Golden Eagles in Marquette's BIG EAST era.

Sharon Pettis Randolph was named the first head coach of the Marquette women's team in 1975. The team played its first match on September 16, 1975, against Lakeland University and secured a 5-0 victory. The inaugural team went on to finish 5-1 in its first season. Randolph led the program for eight seasons, all of which featured winning records. She finished her career at Marquette with a 78-17 record and still holds the highest winning percentage in program history.

The longest-tenured head coach for the Blue and Gold, Jody Bronson, who currently serves as an assistant coach for the program, holds the most career wins in Golden Eagles history with 437 victories. Bronson was named Coach of the Year three times during her tenure at Marquette — once in the North Star Conference, once in the Great Midwest Conference, and once in Conference USA before the team joined the BIG EAST for the 2005-06 season. The Golden Eagles made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (1997, 1998, 1999), all under Bronson's leadership.

2025 Golden Eagles

The team returns four players this dual season: graduate student and team captain Andie Weise, senior Tiera Jarmond, and juniors Emma-Jane Barclay and Emma Davis.

Jarmond and Weise return for the Golden Eagles with the most singles wins on the current roster as each concluded last season with eight wins apiece.

The squad also welcomes four freshmen to this season's roster: Aiyana Abbott, Elena Duva, Joelle Fiallo Schad, and Luciana Mendoza.

Western Michigan Matchup

First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT.

In 16 meetings between the two squads, Western Michigan holds a slight advantage over Marquette in the series with a record of 9-7.

In the last meeting between the Golden Eagles and Broncos, Marquette won 5-2 during the 2020 season. Friday's match will be the first dual competition since the 2020 season.

Keep up with the Marquette University women's tennis program through social media by following on Twitter (@MarquetteWTEN) and Instagram (@Marquettewten) and 'liking' on Facebook (MarquetteWTEN).