TCU Poised For 2010 Season
1/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Jan. 20, 2010
FORT WORTH -- Head coach Jefferson Hammond and the 2010 TCU women's tennis team will look to make their seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships this season after returning six players from last year's Mountain West Conference tournament title team. The Horned Frogs also welcome a newcomer that will make an immediate impact in 2010.
The Horned Frogs are scheduled take on 16 NCAA qualifiers from a year ago. While traveling to face stout competition from Vanderbilt, Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Miami, Wichita State, Baylor and Notre Dame, TCU will also host a tough slate at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center, including Stanford, SMU, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Illinois and VCU.
"We have put ourselves in position to play a very good schedule," Hammond said. "We look forward to the week-in and week-out challenge in front of us. It should provide a platform for improvement as we head into the conference and NCAA tournaments."
TCU opens up conference play April 2 against Air Force and the Frogs have garnered four-straight Mountain West Conference titles in as many years and hope to continue their success this season. The MWC Championships will be held in Las Vegas, Nev., by host UNLV, April 28-May 1. If the Frogs' make their seventh consecutive NCAA appearance, they will have the right to play for a trip to play in Athens, Ga., May 20-31.
"Our conference is always tough and we look forward to league play as much as any non-conference match," Hammond said.
Headlining the TCU lineup will be 2009 ITA Singles All-American and senior captain Nina Munch-Soegaard. The Amarillo, Texas native enjoyed a successful junior campaign, defeating five straight nationally ranked opponents to begin the year. Reaching as high as No. 6 in the Campbell's/ITA Singles Rankings, Munch-Soegaard earned a top-16 seed at the NCAA Singles Championships and finished the year listed at No. 22.
"This is my fourth year and Nina's as well," Hammond said. "This will be a special year with her as the captain of the team and I expect her to lead this group to great heights."
Munch-Soegaard also claimed the Wilson/ITA Southwest Regional singles crown, while advancing to the semifinals of the National Indoor Championships.
The Frogs' junior class of Maria Babanova, Idunn Hertzberg and Katariina Tuohimaa will be the rock of the TCU roster in 2010, bringing depth and experience to the court.
Babanova sustained a 13-9 singles record for TCU in 2009, but her true contributions came in doubles action, sporting a 22-9 clip, including a 5-2 mark against the MWC. The Moscow, Russia product teamed up with three different partners throughout the 2009 season, but achieved the most success with then freshman Gaby Mastromarino, finishing 8-4 and going 4-1 in MWC play.
"Maria is a fighter who will never back down," Hammond said. "She's determined to lay it all on the line in every match."
Hertzberg is also a returning junior that will give the Frogs' depth. In 2009, the Oslo, Norway native posted winning streaks of six and four during the year, playing in the Nos. 3 through 6 position. She claimed a 7-1 singles record against the MWC and delivered the clinching shot against No. 29 San Diego State. Hertzberg saw limited doubles action, but paired up with Munch-Soegaard to help earn the doubles point against Arkansas in the second round of the NCAA Championships.
"Idunn does not like to lose. She will find her way back into matches and has many, many times."
Tuohimaa has enjoyed back-to-back seasons of all-MWC accolades in singles and doubles for the first half of her collegiate career and will look to add more recognition in 2010. Tuohimaa produced a 14-8 record from the front three courts, including a 7-1 clip against the MWC. The Helsinki, Finland product enjoyed an eight-match winning streak as a junior and clinched matches against Florida State, BYU, Colorado State and over UNLV in the MWC Championship finale.
"Katariina can play with anyone in the country and has a tremendous will. She has an incredibly professional manner about her when it comes to practice habits and play."
Tuohimaa's doubles prowess came alongside freshman Kayla Duncan, where the duo captured a 14-8 overall record, anchored by a 6-1 ledger against MWC opponents. The TCU tandem ended the season with five-straight wins to help propel the Frogs through the MWC tournament and NCAA Championships.
Shalini Sahoo, a native of New Delhi, India, who has experienced success on the international level, joined TCU's roster this fall as a junior. The righthander reached high positions of No. 623 in singles and No. 891 in doubles in the WTF world rankings this past spring. Sahoo transferred to TCU from Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi.
"Shalini has an excellent work ethic. She has very nice strokes and a great mind."
TCU rounds out the squad with a pair of excellent sophomores that gained a massive amount of experience as newcomers for the Frogs in 2009.
Kayla Duncan made her first impression count as a freshman in 2009, leading TCU with a 27-7 overall singles record and garnering all-MWC honors in singles and doubles. Her 27 wins fell one short of matching Lucie Dvorakova's single-season best for a Frog freshman, registering 28 wins in 1996. Duncan was the only TCU player to go undefeated against the league in 2009 and carried her momentum into the fall semester to accomplish a 13-6 singles record, highlighted by six wins over nationally-ranked opponents.
"Kayla had a fantastic fall to follow-up a great freshman year. She is really building momentum to do great things."
Mastromarino returns for her sophomore campaign after going 18-14 as a newcomer a year ago. She also helped TCU in many areas, playing anywhere from the Nos. 2 through 6 courts. Mastromarino delivered the winning blow over conference foes Colorado State and Wyoming, taking six of her final seven wins in straight sets.
"Gaby is an excellent player who contributes in many areas, not just on the court. She will do anything for her teammates."
TCU will begin the spring season on Jan. 29 in Knoxville, Tenn., as part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, taking on No. 22 Vanderbilt at 9 a.m.
Players Mentioned
