Sohmer Ready to Represent Wolves at ITA Cup

WESSON – After his impressive run through the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Region Tournament, Co-Lin tennis sophomore Arne Sohmer (Cologne, Germany), is now preparing to participate in the ITA Cup at Berry College in Mount Berry, Georgia from October 13-16.

"The experience at the ITA Regional Tournament was interesting because I started off with the number one overall seed and it was a tough matchup, but I was confident that I could win that match, and when I did that confidence carried throughout the tournament," stated Somher. "I am pumped for the ITA Cup and I think it will be a good experience. I am very proud to be representing Co-Lin tennis at the national level."

"Even though I don't know anything about the competition that I will be facing, I am playing to go out there and play my best tennis which will hopefully lead me to winning matches during the tournament," added Sohmer. "I look forward to the challenge that the other players will present at nationals."

Assistant coach Tripp Case said that he believes Sohmer not knowing the opponents will be beneficial for his success during the tournament.

"I think it is better for him when Arne doesn't know the opponent too well because then he can't go look up their ranking or record," stated Case. "He knows that all these guys will be good players and I think that not knowing a lot about the opponents led to his success in the regional tournament. Transferring from Alcorn State where he played a lot of top colleges in the nation as a freshman also helped prepare him and make him feel more comfortable playing tennis at a high level."

Head coach Dana Hale said she is excited about what the success of Arne means for the tennis team.

"Arne playing in the tournament says a lot for where our team is at the moment," stated Hale. "This success for not only Arne, but our whole team during the regional tournament shows that we can compete and beat any team in the state at any given time.

"Arne is our first player to win the overall singles in the ITA regionals since Sebastian Osorio did in 2017, so this was a big win for our program," added Hale. "Bringing Tripp in as an assistant has been an incredible boost to our program with his skills in player development and I have seen a lot of improvement in our players in the short time that he has already been here."

Sohmer will begin the ITA Cup with a match against the No. 1 overall seed, Jean-Baptiste Badon, from Glendale Community College (CA) on Friday, October 13.