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Saint John graduate and Ohio Northern tennis player Julianne Sheldon returns a shot during Ashtabula County Tennis Ladder action in June.
Saint John graduate and Ohio Northern tennis player Julianne Sheldon returns a shot during Ashtabula County Tennis Ladder action in June.
Julianne Sheldon didn’t play much doubles tennis while at Saint John.
That has changed in college.
Sheldon completed her freshman season at Ohio Northern in the spring.
She went 11-5 in singles, playing fourth, fifth and sixth, and 8-1 in doubles.
“There’s defintely different strategy,” Sheldon said. “You have to be aggressive. Things are shorter periods.”
Still, Sheldon, a two-time Ashtabula County Player of the Year in tennis, was pleased with her season.
“People put a lot of pressure on doubles,” she said. “I just had to learn to play doubles. I enjoy playing doubles more.”
Sheldon teamed with Emily Cevera for a couple of postseason doubles matches with the Heralds.
“Julianne has really improved her doubles play since she’s come back from Ohio Northern,” said Saint John’s Todd Nassief, who coached her in high school. “She’s a much better volleyer and you can tell her return of serves are greatly improved.
“She’s been working out a lot, so she’s much stronger physically, too.”
ONU finished the 2021-22 season 19-7 overall, 6-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
The Polar Bears dropped a 5-1 decision to No. 1 Otterbein in the finals of the OAC Tournament at the Lindner Tennis Center to close the season in May.
“Our team is good all the way around,” said Sheldon, who is majoring in egineering..
It was an ominous start for the Polar Bears. Mike Bonnell was named interim head women’s tennis coach in late February.
He replaced head coach Scott Wills, who served as the women’s tennis coach at Ohio Northern for 21 seasons before leaving for Alma (Mich.) to be the vice president for advancement.
Last September, Sheldon finished 5-1 at the Oberlin Invitational and went 3-0 in wins over Adrian (Michigan) and Manchester (Indiana).
With a new season approaching, Sheldon knows the competition will be fierce.
“Fall season starts in August,” she said. “We’ll have tryouts. They’re recruiting a bunch of freshmen. I need to play my best.”
Sheldon has honed her game in the Ashtabula County Tennis Ladder, a popular organization that has been around since 2012.
“The ladder helped me in college because it helps me keep up with tennis, even when I’m out of season,” Sheldon said.”That way when I go back, I’m ready to play like I never left at all.”
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