WILKES-BARRE – The Wilkes University Men's and Women's Tennis teams are set to kick off their spring seasons this weekend in Hilton Head, S.C., competing in their sophomore campaigns in the Landmark Conference under six-time Landmark Coach of the Year Scott Veith in his first season as head coach.

"We're ready to go," Veith said of the team's excitement to get the season underway. "This is our first spring all together as a team and they're great learners. I've got a lot of veterans on the team who are excited to get coached, and we're looking forward to it."

Men's Preview
The Wilkes men's tennis team finished their first season in the conference with a 6-8 overall record and a 4-5 record in conference play, reaching the Landmark playoffs first round.

This season, the seven-man squad is comprised of two graduate students, three seniors, one sophomore, and one first year.

Jonah Nguyen (Enola, PA/East Pennsboro Area) and Donovan Zong (Bethlehem, PA/Salisbury Township) make up the two graduate students on the roster, providing experience and leadership to the group. Zong went undefeated through the fall with four wins in singles competition, including a singles crown at the King's Invitational in September, adding four more wins as a pair with Nguyen so far this year with a doubles crown at the same event.

Connor Frey (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley) leads the senior class, also undefeated early in the season with a title at the King's Invitational and a 5-0 overall record in singles play. He is joined by Nathanial Rathe (Lincoln, NE/Lincoln Southeast) and newcomer to the squad Sean Relak (Hamilton, New Jersey/Hamilton West).

"The best part about having a veteran group is they've seen success, failure, different teams, different coaches, different opponents, they cut right through any question marks, and we just get down to business," Veith said of his seniors. "They're a good group of learners, excited to hear what advice we have to give, and look us in the eye when we talk to them. I couldn't ask for anything more out of the returners."

Cole Riley (Louisville, KY/Xavier) is the team's lone sophomore, adding to his nine combined singles and doubles wins from last season with four this fall, two in each discipline.

The team's lone first year is Otarhe Okoh (Shakopee, MN/Shakopee), who made his presence known from the first competition with a singles title at the King's Invitational. Like Frey, Okoh sits at 5-0 in singles competition entering the spring season, adding six wins in doubles play.
 
Women's Preview
Like the men's team, the women also reached the first round of the Landmark Conference playoffs last season with a 4-5 conference record, going 4-10 overall in the regular season.

The 12-woman team is comprised of three seniors, one junior, five sophomores, and three first years, including a trio of dual-sport athletes.

Tea Amerise (Mountain Top, PA/Holy Redeemer) headlines the senior class, starting the season strong with a combined 9-2 record across singles and doubles competition. She is joined by Sydney Farmer (Lacey Township, NJ/Lacey Township) and Karlee Yuscavage (Hanover Twp., PA/Hanover Area), who were both undefeated in doubles competition in the fall at 5-0 and 3-0 respectively.

Adrianna Aziz (Reading, PA/Muhlenberg) is the lone junior on the team, joining for her first year of collegiate tennis.

Sophomores Kensington Edmond (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) and Ava Vacula (Exeter, PA/Wyoming Area Secondary Center) return for their second seasons, joined by a trio of newcomers to the team in Emma Sanford (Las Vegas, NV/Arbor View), Breanna Herdine (Haslet, TX), and Milica Velcek (Novi Sad, Serbia). Herdine and Velcek join the team from the women's ice hockey program.

"It's one of the best things about Wilkes Athletics, how many kids are multi-sport athletes and are willing to try something new. I'm thankful for that." Veith said of the dual-sport athletes.

The team also welcomes three first year student-athletes in Julia Spaeth (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg Area), Isabel Schreffler (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown West), and Nina Hudakova (Košice, Slovakia). Spaeth and Schreffler impressed in the fall schedule, picking up a combined six wins in singles competition. Hudakova completes the trio of women's ice hockey dual-sport athletes along with Herdine and Velcek.

"They came in with almost no expectations and said, 'How do we get to where we need to be?' and they've been all ears," Veith said of the newcomers on both rosters. "They're a good group, an energetic group. We have a long way to go between now and where we're going to be, but they've embraced every step."

After each defeating Elizabethtown in the fall to take their first conference wins of the season, the teams will open the spring portion of the conference schedule on Saturday, March 22 at Juniata College at 12:00 p.m.

"The Landmark Conference is legit," Veith said. "We're going to have to show up ready. There are no guarantees in any of the teams we play against, men or women. We have to do the work, but there's also no team I look at and say, 'there's no possible way.' Every team in this league can be beaten."

Both teams kick off the spring action on Sunday, March 2 as they face Johnson & Wales University as a part of their spring break trip.