KUTZTOWN, Pa. -- There's a new name in charge, but many of the players on the court remain as the Kutztown University women's tennis team gets ready to embark on its spring season, Saturday.
The Golden Bears missed out on a PSAC playoff spot by a narrow one-win margin last year after compiling a 4-5 overall record (3-3 PSAC East) and return their starters at No. 1, No. 3, No. 4 and No. 5 singles, along with their No. 1 doubles tandem.
Kutztown's most significant change comes at the top, where
Wyatt Pauley is set to make his NCAA Division II head coaching debut. Pauley spent the last two years as an assistant at the Division I level with Saint Louis in 2019-20 and Chicago State in 2020-21. A former captain and four-year starter at Quincy University (Ill.), Pauley also served as head coach of the men's and women's teams at NAIA-member University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy (UHSP) in St. Louis during the spring of 2019.
"We're excited to kick off the season," Pauley said. "Since arriving in November, I've seen the hard work and preparation that our student-athletes have put in on the practice courts and I'm looking forward to seeing that translate into our match play."
Junior
Claudia Makarski (Garfield, N.J./Paramus Catholic) solidified her spot at the head of KU's lineup in 2021, going 4-5 overall, including 4-4 at the No. 1 spot and 4-2 in PSAC play. Her performance drew the attention of the league's coaches, who voted the Garfield, N.J., native All-PSAC First Team Singles for the first time.
Joining Makarski on the Singles First Team was Berks Countian and now-senior
Catherine Maher (Shillington, Pa./Berks Catholic). Maher posted a 5-4 overall record playing primarily out of the No. 3 spot. Like Makarski, Maher recorded a 4-2 mark in conference play.
Sarah Lazarchak (Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth), a sophomore, went 4-4 (3-2 in league play) at No. 5, while
Jess Marks (Allentown, Pa./Bethlehem Catholic) occupied the No. 4 spot in the lineup with a 3-6 record.
Makarski and Maher were tied for the most doubles wins, going 3-6 together, though Pauley will likely have to jockey the doubles lineup around with the graduations of
Amanda Grebosky (Reisterstown, Md./Mount de Sales Academy) and
Elyssa Tomczyk (Plainville, Conn./Plainville). Junior
Jessika Klo (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) played in six doubles matches (2-4), spending time with Wendling, Lazarchak and Tomczyk.
With Pauley's late fall arrival --softball coach
Judy Lawes and former head coach Shari Bucklin-Webber led the team through their fall season-- this spring's non-conference schedule provides a heavy dose of Division III competition, starting with Saturday's match at Moravian, which will be played indoors.
The Bears will travel to Scranton and Penn State Harrisburg in March, and TCNJ in April. PSAC East play begins the last Saturday in March at West Chester. In fact, Kutztown's first three league matches are on the road before It finally appears at the Keystone Courts Tuesday, April 5, against East Stroudsburg.
KU's remaining home matches are against Bloomsburg, April 13, Shepherd, April 15, and a non-conference meeting with Davis & Elkins, April 23, to close out the regular season.
