Fordham has earned national recognition for its collegiate athletics, most recently with its record-breaking water polo team. But another program has quietly built a remarkable record of its own: the women’s tennis team.
About 30 years ago, Fordham Athletics joined the Atlantic 10 Conference. For much of the three decades that followed, the women’s tennis team advanced as far as the semifinals just twice. Over the past five years, however, the program has reached new heights. In 2023, the team won its first-ever A-10 Championship title, earning a spot in the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament for the first time. The team also earned the number-one seed in the A-1 Championship over the past two consecutive years.
Now, as they compete in their fall season, the team is setting its sights on the spring championship, hoping to build on its past success and make an even deeper run in the NCAA tournament.
“We’ve done more in the last five years than in the previous 30 years combined,” said Head Coach Michael Sowter, who started coaching the team in 2021. “We’ve got a nice system of recruiting good players, developing them, and making sure that they have opportunities to be successful. … But I can’t take credit for any of the wins. They’re the ones who go out there and hit the ball.”
A Win for the ‘Underdogs’
This year’s team has eight members, including Julianne Nguyen, one of the first Fordham women’s tennis players—and one of just three A-10 athletes—to compete in the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Individual Championships. Of her accomplishments on the court, Nguyen said she is most proud of winning regionals with her former doubles partner, Nevena Kolarevic ’26.
“It was a big feat for us because we were the underdogs of the entire tournament. We were going against all these Ivy League players and Big Ten players. It felt almost impossible for us to win, but we proved them wrong,” said Nguyen, third from the right in the photo above.
The Girls Behind the Game
The team has developed a strong bond both on and off the court, said Ngyuyen.
“Every time we travel together for a game, we go on long trips or stay overnight at hotels. During long car rides, we’ll always have something fun to talk about. Or we’ll come together in our hotel rooms and get a sweet treat at night,” she said. “We’ll just be girls in a hotel room instead of [thinking about the]pressure of being tennis players here to compete.”
‘Losing is Learning’
For Catalina Padilla, one of the toughest moments in her tennis career was losing this year’s A-10 final.
“Losing is learning,” said Padilla, a junior finance major and aspiring lawyer. “I try to see the bigger picture.”
Becoming Better, Together
For Sowter, the team’s success is about more than wins and championships. At the end of the day, he said, what matters most is helping his players become better people.
“I’m not just trying to teach them how to hit a good forehand or serve, but how to be good teammates, good people. And I want to see them succeed—not only here, but help them to be better versions of themselves when they leave,” said Coach Sowter, who recently attended the wedding of his first-ever Fordham recruit.
Training for A-10 and NCAA
This season, the team is pursuing the same goals it has every year: winning the A-10 Conference, returning to the NCAA tournament, and maintaining a high GPA, said Coach Sowter.
Lessons That Last Beyond the Court
Next spring, Nguyen graduates from Fordham with a bachelor’s in business administration and eventually hopes to open a modern Vietnamese-style coffee shop in New York City that reflects her culture. But the lessons she has learned through tennis will stay with her long after she leaves Fordham.
“I’ve been playing tennis for more than half of my entire life,” said Nguyen, who started playing at age 9 in her native California. “I’ve learned so much about who I am as a person, how to push through tough days, discipline, problem-solving—all these great qualities that I hope to bring with me.”
