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madeline chappars

Owls start season strong at home invitational

GAMBIER, OHIO -- The Kenyon College women's tennis team opened its 2026-27 season this past weekend by hosting the two-day Kenyon Invitational. The Owls competed against strong tennis programs from Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, Denison University, and University of Chicago.

Day one of the invite saw many standout performances in singles with many matches playing through tie-breaker sets. Senior Madeline Chappars impressed with straight-set wins over Denison's Mia Swiecicki (6-2, 6-3) and thrilled in a tie-breaking match against Case Western's Ava Karrenbauer (6-4, 7-6 (7-5)). Senior Ana Brand won back to back games on Saturday, first against Denison's Dasha Christyakova (6-3, 1-6, 10-5) and then against UChicago's Elise Chen (7-5, 7-6 (7-5)). First-year Xenia Ilyasova also went unbeaten in singles, defeating two players from Case Western. Her first win was against Trisha Vellanki, who she beat comfortably in straight sets (6-3, 6-1), and her second came after a tie-breaker against Daryana Skobeleva (6-3, 4-6, 10-8). 

First years Lora Szabo and Chelsea Chkanyuka each contributed a win for the Owls as well. Szabo beat Case Western's Victoria Vasquez (6-2, 6-4) and Chkanyuka defeated Denison's Caitlin Van Winkle (7-6 (7-4), 6-2). Sophomore Maya Stolarsky earned a hard fought win against skilled UChicago's Rosalyn Chen (6-4, 5-7, 10-7) and junior Maggie Shope won her match against Denison's Maia Nowicki (6-4, 6-0).

Day two brought more tests for doubles play, but Kenyon's roster-depth continued to show success. A gritty 7-6 (7-5) win from Brand and Stolarsky over Carnegie Mellon's Rachel Li and Shelly Zinchenko showed lots of resilience and determination. Chkanyuka and Kiara Komlodi fought hard to add another Owls win to the board, defeating UChicago's Anika Paul and Lili Zawaneh, 7-6 (7-2). 

Szabo and Shope earned a 6-3 win against Denison's Mia Swiecicki and Kate Swigert, and Chappars and Ilyasova defeated Case Western's Allison Wayne and Maya Brink, 7-5. 

The Kenyon women's tennis team will close out its fall competition on the road for the ITA Central Region Championship on September 25-27, hosted by Kalamazoo College. 



 
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