![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/00A1515-1-678x381.jpg\" "\\"womens")
\nTemple Women\u2019s Tennis during a match against Morgan State on Feb. 21. | JUSTIN ALEX \/ THE TEMPLE NEWS<\/p>\n
\nTemple Women\u2019s Tennis during a match against Morgan State on Feb. 21. | JUSTIN ALEX \/ THE TEMPLE NEWS<\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> <\/a> \t\t\t \t<\/a><\/p>\n Temple\u00a0had\u00a0its\u00a0share of highs and lows during\u00a0the\u00a0regular season.\u00a0The\u00a0Owls\u00a0dropped their first three matches,\u00a0giving the\u00a0second\u00a0year\u00a0under Director of Tennis Jeff Brandes\u00a0a rough start.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n However, Temple rebounded\u00a0after the losses,\u00a0improved communication on the\u00a0court\u00a0and\u00a0won five of its next six matches.\u00a0During this time,\u00a0the Owls\u00a0won\u00a0four straight\u00a0matches\u00a0and\u00a0lost\u00a0just a single set.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Temple\u00a0lost\u00a0three of its final four regular season matches,\u00a0stumbling\u00a0to a\u00a09-9\u00a0record.\u00a0The\u00a0Owls\u00a0earned the\u00a0ninth\u00a0seed\u00a0and will\u00a0play\u00a0eight-seed\u00a0UAB\u00a0in\u00a0the first\u00a0round of\u00a0the\u00a0American Conference\u00a0Championships\u00a0April 16\u00a0at 11 a.m.\u00a0The Owls\u00a0strive\u00a0to play their best tennis\u00a0to surpass the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2022-23 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0really,\u00a0really\u00a0excited for\u00a0Houston,\u00a0and I think we\u2019re going to do\u00a0good,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0senior\u00a0Maria Martinez.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re very motivated and just excited to go and play and do our best.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Temple\u00a0entered the season with six\u00a0underclassmen\u00a0but\u00a0retained\u00a0seven players\u00a0from last\u00a0year\u00a0following\u00a0a\u00a07-13\u00a0record in 2025.\u00a0The Owls\u00a0built chemistry\u00a0during\u00a0the offseason,\u00a0but it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0show until the middle of the year.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n They played\u00a0against\u00a0three\u00a0quality\u00a0opponents\u00a0in Northwestern,\u00a0VCU\u00a0and West Virginia. Temple\u00a0won\u00a0just\u00a0a single set across the three\u00a0matches,\u00a0but\u00a0its confidence\u00a0did not\u00a0waver.\u00a0The Owls have\u00a0only\u00a0failed to\u00a0win\u00a0a set in one other match since\u00a0a 7-0 defeat to Barry University on March 7.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like we\u2019ve been building all season long,\u201d Brandes said. \u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0been playing better doubles all season long.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0important.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Owls hit their stride in the middle of the season\u00a0with\u00a0seven wins from Feb. 8 to March 29.\u00a0They defeated\u00a0city rivals in\u00a0St. Joseph\u2019s 5-2 on March 25 and\u00a0Villanova 4-3 on March 29\u00a0during the stretch.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Temple\u2019s\u00a0chemistry\u00a0became\u00a0the reason for\u00a0the\u00a0turnaround,\u00a0an effort that\u00a0last season\u2019s returners fronted. The familiarity\u00a0among\u00a0the players\u00a0created trust\u00a0on the court.\u00a0They talked\u00a0outside of tennis and\u00a0did\u00a0team-bonding\u00a0activities\u00a0like card games\u00a0and watching shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been feeling more comfortable together, knowing each other,\u201d\u00a0Martinez said. \u201cIt\u2019s been better, the connection\u2019s been much better.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Temple\u00a0lost three\u00a0of its last four matches and closed\u00a0the regular season with a 4-3 defeat to Drexel on April 10.\u00a0The Owls are still confident\u00a0that they can\u00a0play\u00a0their best tennis in\u00a0the American tournament\u00a0despite\u00a0the way the regular season ended.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sophomores\u00a0Irmak Ozturk\u00a0and\u00a0Nina Andreoni\u00a0had strong seasons\u00a0and could help guide Temple in the championships. They\u00a0tied for a team-high 16 singles wins\u00a0while Ozturk\u00a0collected\u00a0a team-high\u00a013 doubles wins\u00a0alongside\u00a0freshman\u00a0Tianni Zhou.\u00a0Brandes will\u00a0look\u00a0for everyone to step up in the championships,\u00a0since\u00a0one player will not\u00a0dictate\u00a0the\u00a0entire\u00a0team\u2019s\u00a0performance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a team game\u00a0even though tennis is an individual sport. Look, we need four points,\u201d Brandes said. \u201cWe don\u2019t know where they are going to come from and no one wins because of one player.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The American Championships offers\u00a0Temple its first look at its conference foes as it\u00a0only plays nonconference opponents during the regular season.\u00a0The Owls currently\u00a0sit\u00a0in\u00a0the\u00a0ninth\u00a0seed\u00a0and\u00a0will have to face top seed\u00a0Wichita State\u00a0if it advances on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe never play them in season so it\u2019s going to be a surprise, but I mean everybody knows tennis, every\u00a0day is going to be\u00a0difficult,\u201d Andreoni\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The conference championships\u00a0give\u00a0Martinez and\u00a0senior\u00a0Thamara\u00a0Kawaratani\u00a0Frasser\u00a0the\u00a0chance\u00a0to\u00a0represent\u00a0Temple\u00a0before graduating.\u00a0Brandes\u00a0hopes\u00a0a strong\u00a0performance\u00a0can send his team off on a high note\u00a0as a \u201cthank you\u201d for\u00a0their\u00a0hard\u00a0work.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThat would be the best senior present ever,\u201d\u00a0Brandes\u00a0said. \u201c[It would] be awesome.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> \t<\/a> <\/a> \t\t\t \t<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776349752_988_mostadon-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\n\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n