Ephs turn focus to 2026 season

Links: 2026 Roster | 2026 Schedule | 2026 Coaches | 2025 Statistics

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - There is a positive vibe around the 2026 Williams College women's tennis program that is palpable.

The Ephs begin their 2026 journey with home matches against Smith (10 a.m.) and Springfield (3 p.m.) on Saturday, Feb. 28. NESCAC competition begins with a 2 p.m. match at Wesleyan on Saturday, March 7, in Middletown, Connecticut.

"We are really excited about the season and this team in particular," said ninth-year head coach Anik Cepeda. "The student-athletes are all working really hard every day to make each other better. Over the last two weeks, they have been dialed in on improving their competitive games, encouraging one another, staying consistent with their physical training and challenging each other to push hard during lifts. The more hard work and time we commit to each other on and off the court, the further we will go as a team, and ultimately the prouder we will all be of the program and our season. A big dream of ours is creating a dream team experience. We are working on that every day."

During her first season at the helm of the program in 2017-18, Cepeda guided the Ephs to a NESCAC Championship, to go along with a Final Four appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Cepeda has coached 10 Ephs to All-American status during her time as the leading voice of the team.
 
The 2026 team, which has seven returning student-athletes and three newcomers, will be led by senior captains Jane Ladaga and Mia Thomann, while Andrew Dorr returns for his fourth year as an assistant coach. Juniors Ahn Lin, Margaux Molyneux and Julia Zhang, sophomores Mia Roets and Ellie Stark and first-years Ayanna Varma, Katelyn Wu and Zoe Yao round out the roster.

Ladaga garnered Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-American honors and NESCAC All-Conference First Team laurels in doubles action during 2025. She went 17-6 in doubles during 2024-25, while Thomann recorded an 11-5 mark in doubles. Roets and Stark finished 10-8 and 8-6, respectively, in singles, while Lin went 11-8 in doubles and 8-5 during singles. Molyneux won 10-of-17 doubles matches and Zhang emerged victorious in five singles matches and four doubles events.

The Ephs are scheduled to compete in 18 spring matches during 2026, including hosting Amherst on Sunday, April 19, for an 11 a.m. showdown. Williams will have seven home matches and also travels to Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania during its spring break trip from March 21-28, competing against Case Western Reserve, Kenyon, Salisbury, Haverford and Swarthmore.