University of Minnesota Athletics
Women's Tennis Opens Season Saturday
1/21/2009 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
With its four winningest players back from last season plus a pair of talented newcomers and several experienced veterans, Minnesota opens its 2008-09 women’s tennis dual match season on Sat., Jan. 24 against Drake in Rochester, Minn. The Gophers are ranked 63rd in the preseason national poll.
Head coach Tyler Thomson enters his eighth season at Minnesota and returns all but three players from last year’s squad that finished 15-11 overall. The Gophers have made steady improvement the past three years after a five-win season in 2006 and a 12-win campaign in 2007.
The Gophers are led by sophomore Alessandra Ferrazzi, who played all of her matches at No. 1 singles last season and finished 8-5 during fall tournaments. Ferrazzi won 23 matches as a freshman and also teamed with junior Tijana Koprivica for a 9-5 doubles record this fall.
Koprivica was 7-8 in fall matches this year and posted a team-high 24 singles victories in 2007-08. She went 7-3 in Big Ten play and was 12-1 at No. 4 singles for the Gophers last season.
The Gophers also return a pair of 16-win singles performers in senior Karina Chiarelli and junior Jackie Sperling. Chiarelli had one of Minnesota’s highlights during the fall season with an individual title at the Drake Invitational while finishing with a 6-4 fall record. Sperling went 7-6 during the fall season.
New to the Gophers’ lineup in 2008-09 are freshmen Magdalena Wiecha and Niltooli Wilkins. Wiecha compiled a 4-6 record during the fall, while Wilkins did not compete until the ITA regional championships and posted a solid 4-1 record in the event. Wiecha was an under-20 national tournament champion in Poland, while Wilkins won the 2007 Class AA Minnesota state singles title and captured an ITA summer circuit title during 2008.
Senior Alex Seaton will be a welcomed addition this spring after missing much of last season and the entire 2008 fall season with an injury. Seaton had an impressive performance at the end of the fall by winning a campus match play tournament against several Gopher teammates and other top area players.
The Gophers will also look to experienced sophomores Peta Forsyth and Elena Kazakova, who both joined the team last year at mid-season and saw action in several spring duals as well as 2008 fall tournaments. Kazakova went 4-5 in singles matches last year, while Forsyth posted a 5-1 record.
Juniors Jackie Claypool and Liz Tusler are in their third year in the Gophers’ program and provide depth to the lineup. Junior Mariana Spilca and sophomore Ronni Saxon may also contribute after missing the entire 2008 spring and fall seasons.
Following Saturday’s season opener, Minnesota jumps into the thick of its schedule with a match at defending national champion and third-ranked UCLA on Sat., Jan. 30 in the ITA National Indoor Championships in Los Angeles.
Players Mentioned
