TIM TAYLORTioga County Sports Report
OWEGO — The Owego girls tennis roster has basically doubled in size compared to 2024.
The River Hawks don’t have a whole lot of experience and will have a mix of returning varsity competitors, players who have moved up from the modified ranks and girls who are new to the sport.
“We have 11 players on our varsity roster this season,” said coach Erica Haray. “We have eight new players on the varsity team; half played modified, half are brand new to tennis.
“Growing our team in size has been a big accomplishment already for us this season. We had large teams consistently and then lost a lot of players. We graduated large classes and didn’t rebound. We’ve been hosting camps for 3rd- to 12th-graders the last several years, and our returning players recruited their friends to join us. It’s a great feeling to begin the season with a full roster again!”
Heading up the team this season is junior Meredith Wescott, the returning No. 1 singles player; senior Elaina Anschutz, also returning at singles; and sophomore Hailey Griep, who is returning at doubles. Anschutz has not completed her round robin qualifying yet, so her singles position has yet to be determined.
“Merri Wescott has been playing a lot in the off season and has been working really hard at improving her game and confidence on the court,” Haray said. “She’s physically stronger and more agile, selecting better shots, and is more resilient as a tennis player this season.
“Elaina Anschutz is also returning and is a strong athlete whose game has also improved a lot throughout her tennis career.
Juniors Jana Nikulich and Betty Pellicano are looking to make an impact on the court.
“Jana and Betty are new to tennis and are both strong athletes,” Haray said. “They will be playing singles for us this year.
“Shatha Alotaibi, Maddie Delaney, Emma Dixon, Raselle Gilbert, Ella Goldenberg and Addison Ray-Wage are all new on our varsity roster and will be playing doubles for us.”
The River Hawks lost two players from last year, one who transferred schools during the season and another who chose not to return this year.”
Haray is excited about the upcoming season.
“We are energized for the season with a full roster and a great group of young women who are eager to play and improve,” she said. “We look forward to seeing how Merri competes this season as our No. 1 player, as we can already see her hard work paying off just in the first couple of weeks. Elaina’s leadership on the team has grown which is also great to see, and Jana and Betty will help round out our singles line up as both are learning the game quickly and are great athletes.
“I expect our doubles teams to continue to develop and get stronger and win some matches for us. We’ll be focused on the doubles tournament for the qualifier this year and will be prepping for that all season.”
Owego opened the season with a 6-0 loss to a veteran Chenango Forks squad on Thursday and will host its first home match Wednesday against Norwich.
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2025 roster
Elaina Anschutz, senior
Meredith Wescott, junior
Shatha Alotaibi, junior
Madalyn Delaney, junior
Emma Dixon, junior
Jana Nikulich, junior
Betty Pelicano, junior
Hailey Griep, sophomore
Raselle Gilbert, freshman
Ella Goldenberg, freshman
Addison Ray-Wage, freshman
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IN PHOTO: Merri Westcott, shown in a match last season, is Owego’s No. 1 singles player again this year.
