Temple Women’s Tennis during a match against Morgan State on Feb. 21. | JUSTIN ALEX / THE TEMPLE NEWS
Temple had its share of highs and lows during the regular season. The Owls dropped their first three matches, giving the second year under Director of Tennis Jeff Brandes a rough start.
However, Temple rebounded after the losses, improved communication on the court and won five of its next six matches. During this time, the Owls won four straight matches and lost just a single set.
Temple lost three of its final four regular season matches, stumbling to a 9-9 record. The Owls earned the ninth seed and will play eight-seed UAB in the first round of the American Conference Championships April 16 at 11 a.m. The Owls strive to play their best tennis to surpass the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2022-23 season.
“We’re really, really excited for Houston, and I think we’re going to do good,” said senior Maria Martinez. “We’re very motivated and just excited to go and play and do our best.”
Temple entered the season with six underclassmen but retained seven players from last year following a 7-13 record in 2025. The Owls built chemistry during the offseason, but it didn’t show until the middle of the year.
They played against three quality opponents in Northwestern, VCU and West Virginia. Temple won just a single set across the three matches, but its confidence did not waver. The Owls have only failed to win a set in one other match since a 7-0 defeat to Barry University on March 7.
“I feel like we’ve been building all season long,” Brandes said. “We’ve been playing better doubles all season long. That’s important.”
The Owls hit their stride in the middle of the season with seven wins from Feb. 8 to March 29. They defeated city rivals in St. Joseph’s 5-2 on March 25 and Villanova 4-3 on March 29 during the stretch.
Temple’s chemistry became the reason for the turnaround, an effort that last season’s returners fronted. The familiarity among the players created trust on the court. They talked outside of tennis and did team-bonding activities like card games and watching shows.
“We’ve been feeling more comfortable together, knowing each other,” Martinez said. “It’s been better, the connection’s been much better.”
Temple lost three of its last four matches and closed the regular season with a 4-3 defeat to Drexel on April 10. The Owls are still confident that they can play their best tennis in the American tournament despite the way the regular season ended.
Sophomores Irmak Ozturk and Nina Andreoni had strong seasons and could help guide Temple in the championships. They tied for a team-high 16 singles wins while Ozturk collected a team-high 13 doubles wins alongside freshman Tianni Zhou. Brandes will look for everyone to step up in the championships, since one player will not dictate the entire team’s performance.
“It’s a team game even though tennis is an individual sport. Look, we need four points,” Brandes said. “We don’t know where they are going to come from and no one wins because of one player.”
The American Championships offers Temple its first look at its conference foes as it only plays nonconference opponents during the regular season. The Owls currently sit in the ninth seed and will have to face top seed Wichita State if it advances on Thursday.
“We never play them in season so it’s going to be a surprise, but I mean everybody knows tennis, every day is going to be difficult,” Andreoni said.
The conference championships give Martinez and senior Thamara Kawaratani Frasser the chance to represent Temple before graduating. Brandes hopes a strong performance can send his team off on a high note as a “thank you” for their hard work.
“That would be the best senior present ever,” Brandes said. “[It would] be awesome.”