The women’s tennis team, back-to-back state title winners, are back for their 2025 spring season. After last year's successful season of winning both state and metro, the tennis team is looking to have another great year. Jesuit has the most state title wins for women’s tennis in the state of Oregon, currently with 15 state titles.
A lot of the team’s success can be attributed to coach Kirsten Ruchaber. Ruchaber has won 19 Mmetro lLeague titles, 11 state titles, and is a 6 time Metro League cCoach of the yYear with being named National Coach of the Year in 2021-2022. As the season is close to a start, Ruchaber reflects on her team’s previous season and the goals she has for the upcoming season.
“Our goal is always to compete as tough as we can with each school. We know that Westview and Sunset will be tough this year with their returning players, so early on we try to pick a lineup and pick girls that will compete with those players.”
After last year, players look forward to improving their play with Ruchaber’s help and working on different elements to positively impact the team.
“We're always working on refining our doubles strategies in our doubles game. That's the fun part about coaching, it's very strategic on who's going to play with who and who plays on which side,” Ruchaber said.
Seniors Kitty Ayotte and Kate Paine step into new roles this year, figuring out how to best lead their team. Both have been on varsity for all four years of high school and have made impacts for women’s tennis at Jesuit, helping win back to back state titles.
“Winning state twice and winning metro the last three years, as seniors we want to set an expectation for our team that it’s important to uphold that standard on and off the court. For all the freshmen coming in, we will encourage them to just try their best everyday and put in the work during practice,” Paine said.
Moving into this new season, Ayotte reflects on key aspects that helped their team’s preparation for state last year.
“We focused on two aspects, the physical aspect, where all of us showed up to practice and worked really hard and also the mental aspect. Tennis is a huge mental sport especially when it comes to district and state, and during that time we stayed close with our team and made sure that everyone was taking time for themselves and unwinding.”
Being captains their past year, both Ayotte and Paine had to learn what leadership they could bring to the team. Now being seniors, they will be leaned on more than ever from their underclassmen teammates.
“We don’t necessarily have someone to lean on anymore and I think that's the hardest part of being a senior is that people are now going to lean on you. We had a little bit of that last year but this year we are definitely ready and excited to lead our team” Paine said.
After losing their impact senior, Carissa Gerung, the Crusaders will have to step up to fill her role with new and returning players. The team relied heavily on Gerung last year and her spot will be a challenge to take over.
“It definitely will impact the team and although it was one player, Carissa was a very strong player and was our number one since her first year but moving forward, all the freshmen look really strong and I think our team will have a lot of layers and depth which a lot of other teams don't have,.” Ayotte said
With 4 new freshmen and 1 new sophmore, women’s tennis is excited for the future of their team and the successes they have coming. With a total of 18 girls on the team, Ruchaber knows their team has potential to go far.
“We've got some great depth in all of the classes. I'm excited about my senior leadership and the juniors I have stepping up. Just a great group of girls I get to work with.”
In four years of playing for Jesuit women’s tennis, Paine and Ayotte have learned a lot and experienced growth in their play.
“It has made me more competitive and I’ve learned what being on a team means. Jesuit has taught me that tennis is not only a really fun sport but you can build a bond with the people who are really supporting you and who all have the same goal” Paine said.
Jesuit is ready for another tough year of play on the court. With their team full of depth and talent, women’s tennis will be hard to beat as the season goes on. Ruchaber is excited for what the season has in store.
“I’m most excited about the girls. They bring energy every day. Each day is a new day, and that's why I love coaching. Obviously, I love the game of tennis, but I love making an impact on the girls out there, on the court and in their daily lives.”
As the season is just starting, stay tuned for Jesuit coverage on Women’s tennis. Don’t miss the back to back state champs in their 2025 season.
