MOBILE, Ala. - The pinnacle of what has been a historic season for the Goshen women's tennis program comes on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 pm EST as the #14 Maple Leafs compete against #19 Holy Cross College in their first-ever appearance at the NAIA National Championships. GC is looking to extend the mountaintop experience a bit longer.

Of the 24 schools that made the championship, held at the Mobile Tennis Center, there were three that had never made it to the event before - Goshen, Lousiana Christian and Stanton (Calif).

The 2025-26 season was the winningest in program history. The Leafs finished with a 15-7 overall record and went 8-1 in the Crossroads League. They defeated ranked or receiving votes opponents in the NAIA coaches' poll six times this spring - #19 William Woods, (RV) Missouri Baptist, #22 Bethel, (RV) Grace and #20/#22 Indiana Wesleyan (Goshen defeated IWU twice). The eight-player roster is represented by three continents and eight different countries - Hungary, Ukraine, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Sri Lanka, Colombia and Venezuela.

The Maple Leafs won in the Crossroads League quarterfinals and semifinals before falling to Marian in the championship. Under the direction of third-year head coach Jon Bemisderfer, who was recently named the ITA/Dunlop East Regional Women's Coach of the Year, the Leafs are in a position they have never been in before. However, they are well positioned to find success in the tournament, having won 12 of their last 14 matches since facing none other than Holy Cross earlier this season.

With the two schools separated by a 50-minute drive in northern Indiana, the teams had already played at the South Bend Racquet Club in early March. The Saints, who were ranked #11 at the time while Goshen was unranked, won narrowly, 4-3. Goshen won the doubles points and then had wins from Maria Clara Fonte and Sara Nino in singles.

The Maple Leafs can earn points all throughout the lineup, with everyone from #1 through #6 putting their names in the record book. Blanka Bodo is the program's career wins leader with 93. She leads in career singles wins and is tied for the lead in doubles wins. With her teammate Maria Clara Fonte, the duo set a program record this season with 16 doubles wins at the #1 position. Also setting single-season records this year are Blanka Bodo with 19 wins at the #2 singles position, Vishmi Serasinghe with 17 wins at #4 singles, Marin Kawano with 16 wins at #5 singles and Sara Nino with 20 wins at #6 singles. Maria Clara Fonte is tied for the program record with 17 wins at #3 singles, tying Bodo's mark from 2023. At #1 singles, Dotsenko is in fourth. Dotsenko made the All-Crossroads League team along with Bodo, Fonte and Serasinghe.

The Maple Leafs left Goshen on Saturday morning and practiced at Tennessee Southern later that afternoon, spending the night in Pulaski, Tennessee. They traveled the rest of the way down on Sunday, and practiced in Mobile later that day. On Monday, the team will teach tennis to local students and attend the NAIA banquet that evening. With a win on Tuesday, Goshen would go on to face #3 Tennessee Wesleyan in the next round on Wednesday at 2:00 pm EST. Admission is free for all spectators. While there is no livestream for the event, you can follow the Goshen College Maple Leafs Instagram and Facebook stories for live updates.