WAVERLY, Iowa- The Wartburg women's tennis team opens the 2025 season in St. Louis on Saturday, August 30^th against Webster University at 9:00 a.m. and Illinois College at 1:00 p.m. The Knight begin conference play on Monday, September 1st against Luther and will compete in a non-conference match against Wisconsin-River Falls.
 
Last Season
Wartburg went 18-10 overall and 5-3 in American Rivers Conference matches. The Knights knocked off Nebraska Wesleyan in the first round of the A-R-C Tournament. The season ended with a loss to top-seeded Luther in the semi-finals of the A-R-C Tournament.
 
Wartburg had two athletes earn All-Conference honors from last year's campaign. Emma Thurness was named All-Conference on the doubles team. Natalie Kaiser was named All-Conference on both the singles and doubles teams. Kaiser finished her career as the all-time wins leader in doubles competition and tied for fifth in all-time wins in singles competition.
 
Season Outlook
The Knights will look to replace valuable production from last year's team. Head Coach Chris Gustas referenced Morgan Kathman, Tori Johnson, Lily Schreckengast, and Brooke Bloom as being ready to take on a large role for this season.


 
Kathman and Bloom each secured 17 doubles victories last season, which is the highest among returners on the team. Additionally, Bloom had a team-high 18 singles victories from last season. "Morgan was a pretty big break-out for us. She went from not much varsity time as a freshman to jumping into #2 in the fall and had a lot of wins, as well as #1 doubles. Her job gets a little bigger, but if we can just repeat last year, then we'll be in a good spot with her. Brooke is another one that got significant time last year, and she'll have to move up," said Gustas.
 
Johnson and Schreckengast are ready to contribute to this season's success. "Tori's been playing really well this fall. Not only has she had to take on a leadership role even more than in the past, but the game has been strong and solid. Lily came back strong. She's been very steady this fall and in doubles especially has improved. In singles, she has been a contributor for a couple of years. Her serve and net play have really changed, so I'm expecting her to step up," said Gustas.
 
The Knights roster is represented by eleven returners and three freshman. "We've just got several players that have open positions that they're trying to fight for right now. I'm excited to see who grabs those and who holds onto them by winning at these positions too," said Gustas.  
 

2025 American Rivers Conference Women's Tennis Preseason Coaches' Poll
Place	Team (First-place votes)	Points
1.	Coe (6)	62
2.	Luther (3)	59
3.	Wartburg	46
4.	Central	45
5.	Univ. of Dubuque	35
6.	Loras	29
7.	Nebraska Wesleyan	25
8.	Simpson	15
9.	Buena Vista	8