ATHERTON, CA – One month into the new year features the start of the fourth campaign to date for Menlo Men's and Women's Tennis. Helmed by Director of Tennis Ben Cabell, who holds nearly 60 wins combining the men's and women's programs in just three seasons, the Oaks bring worldwide talent to the court as matchups with NCAA Division II West Region opponents and the Pacific West Conference Championships await.

Returning Oaks – Leading The Way
A strong collection of upperclassmen are back in the navy and white for the men's team as seniors Asger Emil Ildor and Ian Ramiro Perez, a familiar doubles tandem currently ranked No. 9 in the West Region, will be alongside fellow seniors Robinson Pelluault and Duarte Brito, graduate student Erkin Tootoonchi Moghaddam, and juniors Robin McAlpine, Henry Riccioni-Brown, and Lachlan Ming.

Asger Emil Ildor, who enters the spring with 20 career doubles wins and 17 career singles victories, ranks No. 18 in the West Region in singles following his triumphs over opponents from Azusa Pacific and NCAA Division I Sacramento State this past fall.  McAlpine, the Golden State Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year just seasons years ago, can be found slightly in front of his teammate with a West Region ranking of No. 17 in singles after his victories over opponents from Westmont and NCAA DI Nevada in the fall helped give him momentum toward building on his 16 career singles wins and 19 career doubles wins this spring.

On the women's side, returning leadership comes in the form of seniors Yousra Hidass and Carlotta Stern as well as junior Livia Harper. Hidass comes off a 2025 campaign that saw her go 12-2 in singles record and 7-5 in doubles play while junior Livia Harper earned her 12th career doubles victory in the season following her GSAC Freshman of the Year honor.

Newcomers – Immediate Impacts
Already elevating to a No. 15 West Region singles ranking, freshman David Espinosa Navarro highlights one of 11 new faces joining the Menlo men's squad this season. The native of Murcia, Spain quickly made a name for himself with victories over competitors from American River, Azusa Pacific, Colorado Mesa, and Jessup this past fall and joins a six-member freshman class that includes George Burgin, Jarl Ildor, Nima Trips, Rodrigo Valdivieso, and Joao Pedro Werner Ferreira.

Among the team's new transfers, Galien Del Vecchio (Mines Paris - PSL), Tijl Forger (Hogeschool van Amsterdam), Yuto Morita (Mount Marty University), and Caio Pisciotta (Valencia College), is Louis Boisdenghien from Sterling College. An All-KCAC Second Team honoree, Boisdenghien worked his way up to No. 3 singles for Sterling.

The Menlo women's team also brings a strong contingent of newcomers with previous collegiate experience. Those feature juniors Zofia Dziewiecka (Jackson State University), Polya Nikolova (Flagler College), Karen Saucedo (Davis & Elkins College), and sophomore Ombeline Robilliart (St. Thomas Aquinas College) as well as the tandem of junior Nia Macay and Angel Cody, who both transferred in from Jessup. Dziewiecka, a two-time Regular Season Southwestern Athletic Conference Champion (2024, 2025), reached the HBCU Championship semifinals as a singles competitor in 2023, was named SWAC All-Tournament Team in 2024, and earned SWAC Player of the Week three times. Also carrying prior success, Robilliart and Nikolova each secured double-digit victories across singles and doubles play in their most recent seasons.

A three-member freshmen class includes a pair from Australia in Gloria Jovic and Tumi Kgosiemang along with Spain native Bianca Tatu. Jovic's pre-collegiate highlights include a pair of singles victories in 2024 at the Newcastle Women's Classic Open and Shoalhaven Country Series.

Schedule Highlights – PacWest Pathway
Officially starting the first week of February, Menlo Men's Tennis begins with three consecutive matches hosting American River (Feb. 6) and Fresno Pacific (Feb. 7) before facing Santa Clara (Feb. 8) on the road. Menlo Women's Tennis will also open at home with Fresno Pacific on Feb. 7 before a trip to UC Santa Cruz the following day. The men's squad will take its turn at UCSC on Feb. 10 while the women challenge UC Davis (Feb. 13) in a neutral site matchup from Turlock. Both teams will travel to Jessup for contests on Feb. 20 then the men will make a quick trip to Santa Barbara for a pairing with Westmont on Feb. 21. The final gameday of the month, Feb. 28, features the men hosting Chabot and the women welcoming in Stanislaus State then, following a women's match at Dominican on Mar. 1, both Menlo squads will be on neutral ground for a faceoff with UH Hilo on Mar. 6 in Santa Barbara.

As March action continues, the women host a pair of island opponents in Hawaii Pacific (Mar. 9) and Chaminade (Mar. 13) while the men take on Illinois State (Mar. 13) in Atherton then Ventura College (Mar. 15) in Avila Beach. Joining the men in Southern California, the women meet Cal State LA (Mar. 16) in Los Angeles on the same day as the men matching up with Hawaii Pacific in what will be consecutive days competing on neutral courts at Azusa as both squads face Colorado Mesa on Mar. 17. A road rematch with Stan State follows for the women on Mar. 20 then both teams have pairings with Biola (Mar. 25) and Fresno Pacific (Mar. 26) coming in Fresno.

The Oaks' last month of the spring season will be played primarily at Cartan Tennis Courts with the women first hosting Dominican (Apr. 2) then opponents align with Westmont (Apr. 3 for the men, Apr. 4 for the women), Stanton (Apr. 10), and Jessup (Apr. 11) all visiting Menlo. With their regular season complete, the Oaks will hope to finish with a postseason trip to the PacWest Championships once again taking place in Arizona at Surprise Tennis Center on Apr. 15-17.