Fordham University Women’s Tennis is at an inflection point entering their 2025 campaign. In 2023, they won the Atlantic 10 championship; in 2024, they were ranked eighth among all collegiate tennis teams in the northeast, performing phenomenally throughout the regular season and falling just short in the A-10 tournament.
However, the bulk of their key pieces left the Hawthorn/Rooney tennis courts after earning a diploma or opting for the transfer portal. Senior Lorraine Bergmann, sophomore Julianne Nguyen and junior Sofie Siem represent the Rams’ only returning players.
Luckily, they looked tremendous during the fall competition. The same can be said for Fordham’s five newcomers — three transfers and two freshmen — who have impressed during the fall season’s slew of exhibition tournaments.
The tight-knit eight-woman team, led by coach Michael Sowter entering his sixth year with a 43-20 overall record, got their best taste of competition yet at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s regional tournament. The team took a trip to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing qualifiers on Thursday, Oct. 10, and participating in singles and doubles tournament play on Friday and Saturday.
Among the new faces at Rose Hill is junior Illinois State University transfer Nevena Kolarevic, who stood out in a talented field. Kolarevic was the lone Ram to advance to the round of 16 in tournament play, even taking a set from the tourney’s fifth-ranked player, Columbia University’s Malak El Allami, before ultimately falling, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6. Before then, she took a three-set win in qualifiers and completed a sweep of a ranked player. The Rams were particularly excellent in singles last year, and Kolarevic seems poised to keep up that reputation come spring.
Elsewhere, Rams of new and old won matches. Former Campbell University Camel, sophomore Lily Chitambar, won two qualifiers in dominant fashion, never dropping a set. Freshman Paola Ueno Dalmonico swept her opponent in the qualifying play, too. Dalmonico, Bergmann and freshman Catalina Padilla Udaeta each picked up wins in straight sets in the consolation bracket, too.
The crew also fared rather well in the doubles competition. Sowter put together three duos: Chitambar and Bergmann; Udaeta and Kolarevic; and Nguyen and Dalmonico. In round one, they obliterated the competition, 8-4, 8-2 and 8-2, respectively.
In the round of 32, all three Fordham pairings lost in straight sets. However, the duos were all matched with ranked opponents, and each put up valiant efforts, losing by scores of 8-4, 8-5 and 8-6, respectively. Doubles were a weak spot for the Rams last spring; we’ll see which pairings emerge as Sowter’s favorites as the fall season wanes on.
The team will look to build off what was a generally successful outing this week at the A-10 Individual Championships in Davidson, North Carolina. Winners can qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships in late November.
