A shining star in a season of uncertainty, Caroline Sproule is a great example of what it means to be resilient.
Sproule, class of 2025 from Lewis Center, Ohio, recently completed her fourth and final year as a member of . Despite a challenging 2024-25 season that ended with an 0-15 team record, Sproule earned first-team All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) honors as the Tigers鈥� No. 1 singles player shortly after capturing her 100th career collegiate victory against Ohio Wesleyan University.
Sproule compiled an overall singles record of 12-7, including a mark of 8-6 record at No. 1 singles, and she added six more wins at first doubles en route to third-team All-NCAC honors with partner Sidney Purks, class of 2025 from Oakwood, Ohio.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know it was even my 100th win because I was told I had 95 going into the match,鈥� said Sproule, who will graduate on May 17 with her bachelor鈥檚 degree in biochemistry and molecular biology.
The discrepancy was due to some matches that had not been recorded properly, including two wins at the Transylvania Invitational during her junior year and another match against Indiana University-East in which she tallied a doubles win before the singles matches were cancelled due to rain. Those wins put her at 98, and after getting a win in both singles and doubles against Ohio Wesleyan, she reached the 100-win milestone in the second-to-last match of her college career.
鈥淚t was actually a complete surprise,鈥� Sproule said. 鈥淕etting 100 wins was a goal I鈥檝e always had, but I didn鈥檛 think that I was going to make it there before the season ended.鈥�
Purks was Sproule鈥檚 third different doubles partner in her four seasons, which may be tough for some. But much like everything else thrown at her on and off the tennis court, Sproule was up for the task.
鈥淚 was lucky because I got three awesome doubles partners,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e complimented each other well. I was good at the baseline, and they were good at the net. It took some adjustments at first, but we figured it out based on what our strengths were.鈥�
Sproule and her teammates had to overcome an emotional start to the season. The 2024-25 season followed three successful years for Wittenberg Women鈥檚 Tennis, including a 2023-24 campaign that ended with a 14-5 overall record and a third-place finish in the NCAC. After some uncertainty and rumors, and now under the direction of an interim coach, John DeVito 鈥�23, Wittenberg鈥檚 men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 tennis student-athletes learned that the teams would be discontinued due to the University鈥檚 financial concerns.
Due to that uncertainty, seven of the 10 players expected to return to the women鈥檚 tennis lineup for the 2024-25 season chose to leave the team before the season started. The Tigers were only able to field a roster of seven players for most of the year, including a couple of seniors who were competing for the first time since high school. Even with so many teammates choosing to transfer to other schools, Sproule decided to stay with the team.
鈥淓veryone who transferred was young,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was the oldest on the team and going into senior year, I did not see a point in transferring to a new school. I have made a lot of good friends here, and I like my professors. Over my past four years, I鈥檝e had a great experience here, and I didn鈥檛 want to start over anywhere else.鈥�
In part thanks to the resilience shown by Sproule, her teammates, and her coaches who chose to represent Wittenberg even after the discontinuation announcement, things changed again in March 2025. Wittenberg鈥檚 Vice President and Director of Athletics Brian Agler announced that both teams were reinstated thanks to a group of alumni who pledged their support to fund the program.
