Beshentseva earns ITA honors as most improved senior
TEMPE, Ariz. – Along with the release of its final national polls, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) distributed its annual ledger of regional award winners. Within the Central Region voting, Kenyon College’s Daria Beshentseva was declared the most improved senior.
Beshentseva played at Kenyon’s No. 1 spot in both singles and doubles play for the majority of the 2021-22 season. In singles, she posted a 17-9 record, while in doubles she generated a 22-8 mark. In the previous two seasons, both shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beshentseva played at No. 2 singles and had an overall combined record of 15-6. In that same two-year time frame, she went 20-8 in doubles play.
Beshentseva’s senior season came to a close with her third selection to the All-North Coast Athletic Conference first team. Additionally, she was named the conference’s 2022 Player of the Year, four years after being tabbed the conference’s Newcomer of the Year. She was also invited to and played in both the 2022 NCAA Division III singles and doubles championships.
In the two previous seasons, playing with Erika Oku, Beshentseva twice earned All-America doubles recognition from the ITA.
Each of the regional award winners moves on to national balloting, with the national award winners being announced Wednesday, June 15.
Lady Owls gain national, regional ranks from ITA
TEMPE, Ariz. – Upon this week’s release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) NCAA Division III Women’s National and Regional Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point, the Kenyon College Owls took their place at the No. 27 spot.
The ITA's release of the polls included the top 40 teams, top 50 singles players and top 25 doubles teams from across the country. Additionally, the ITA's regional rankings included the top 20 teams, top 25 singles players and top 15 doubles teams from each Region.
The Kenyon women completed the 2021-22 season with an overall record of 13-10 and a 3-0 record in North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) East Division action. The Owls cruised through the first two rounds of the NCAC Tournament before being edged by rival Denison University in the championship final. All 10 of the Owls’ losses during the season came at the hands of nationally ranked teams.
In the ITA’s national singles rank, senior Daria Beshentseva claimed the No. 24 position after posting a 17-9 singles record playing at Kenyon’s No. 1 spot in the lineup. Beshentseva was also included, along with sophomore Eleni Dakos, in the national doubles rankings. The Kenyon duo took the No. 12 spot after going 15-5 and being named one of just 16 pairings to collect an invite to the NCAA Division III Doubles Championship.
At the regional level, Kenyon was ranked at No. 5 among all teams in the ITA’s Central Region. Beshentseva also gained at No. 5 rank among the Central Region’s singles players, while she and Dakos earned a No. 3 rank among the Central Region doubles teams
Kenyon men slotted at No. 20 in final ITA poll
TEMPE, Ariz. – The Kenyon College Owls were listed as the No. 20-ranked team in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) final 2021-22 NCAA Division III Men’s Collegiate Tennis National and Regional Rankings sponsored by Tennis-Point.
The ITA’s release of the polls included the top 40 teams, top 50 singles players and top 25 doubles teams from across the country. Additionally, the ITA’s regional rankings included the top 20 teams, top 25 singles players and top 15 doubles teams from each region.
Kenyon finished the past season with a 13-8 overall record and a 3-0 record within North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) East Division play. The Owls made it to the NCAC Tournament final but dropped a close 5-3 decision to Denison University, which was ranked as the No. 13 team at the time. Throughout the 2021-22 season, all but one of Kenyon’s losses came to teams that appear on the ITA’s final national poll.
In the Central Regional rank, the Owls were slotted at No. 5 as a team. Individually, junior Luis Andres Platas was ranked as the No. 18 singles player in the Central Region, while first-year Rishil Kondapaneni was ranked at No. 21.
