Both Tennis Teams Fall to St. Ambrose

Stefanova wins in singles and doubles

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (09/24/2026) — The Monmouth College men's and women's tennis teams both lost to St. Ambrose at home on Wednesday afternoon. The women lost 6-1 while the men fell 7-0 in their first match ot the season.

Senior Ivana Stefanova (Streamwood, Illinois) won at No. 1 singles to stay unbeaten on the season. She moved to 4-0 in singles against St. Ambrose with a 7-6 (5), 6-0 win. Jenny Nelson (Wentzville, Missouri) lost 6-1, 6-1 at No. 2 and Kimber Calvert (Paris, Illinois) fell 6-2, 6-1 at No. 3. Tiah Riggs (Vincennes, Indiana) lost 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 at No. 4 and Delaney Albarran (Chicago, Illinois) lost 6-3, 6-2 at No. 5. Korryn Keehner (Staunton, Illinois) lost 6-1, 6-0 at No. 6

In doubles, Stefanova/Nelson won 6-3 at No 1 doubles but Calvert/Riggs lost 6-1 and Albarran/Keehner lost 6-3.

"Ivana had a scary first set but she battled and kept her streak going to start the season and that is what is awesome about her," said head coach Brian Dahlstrom. "The ball striking is getting better and it continues to pay dividends. It was a great night for tennis and playing against St. Ambrose is always a good time and we are really proud of the way we represented Monmouth tonight.

On the men's side, Matt Savage (Washington, Illinois) lost 6-1, 6-2 at No. 1 singles while freshman Tommy Ramsden (Grayslake, Illinois) lost 6-2. 6-4 at No. 2. Cadan De Jong (Freeport, Illinois) lost 5-7, 6-1, 10-5 at No, 3 while Tate Darcy (Morton, Illinois) also went to a tiebreak but fell 3-6. 6-4 10-4 at No. 4. Jacob Cooper (Seguin, Texas) lost 6-3, 6-3 at No 5 and Alfonso Mares (Oak Lawn, Illinois) lost 6-3 6-4 at No. 6.

Savage/Ramsden and Cooper/Mares both lost 6-1 in doubles while Darcy/De Jong went down 6-0 at No. 2.

"Our three freshmen on the men's side really played well and they are going to be setting the tone for this program," said Dahlstrom. "Their willingness to battle and compete is fantastic."

MONMOUTH MOMENTS: Stefanova has 37 career singles wins and is 7-0 in singles this season ... She went 4-0 in singles in her career and 3-1 in doubles against St. Ambrose ... The women last beat the Bees in 2023 while the men last won against St. Ambrose in 2015Darcy, Cooper and Ramsden all made their college debuts ... The men will next play on October 11 with matches against Buena Vista and Simpson in Iowa ... The women return to conference play on October 10 with Homecoming matches against Grinnell and Cornell.