Feb. 27, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

The University of Northern Iowa (6-2) women's tennis team will travel to Lincoln, Neb. this weekend to play Air Force and the University of Nebraska.

 

SCOUTING THIS WEEKENDS OPPONENTS

• Air Force (3-9) is 3-1 all-time against UNI. The Falcons won last meeting against the Panthers 5-1 in 2000. Air Force is currently on a three-match losing streak after losing 5-2 against New Mexico State on Feb. 24.                                            

•Nebraska (9-0) has never lost to UNI in the six meetings between the two schools. The Huskers swept the Panthers last season in Lincoln. Nebraska has been dominant this season sweeping every opponent, but Big 12 foe Iowa State, which the Huskers defeated 6-1. The Huskers are led by senior Imke Reimers who is 9-0 in No. 1 singles this season.  

 

HANNES NAMED MVC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

• Senior Carolina Hannes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) was named State Farm Missouri Valley Conference women's tennis athlete of the week, the league announced Tuesday. This is the second straight week a UNI player has earned this honor, and the third time this season.

• Hannes finished 3-0 in singles play to help the Panthers finish 2-1 on the weekend. The senior helped UNI topple South Dakota State, 7-0, and Chicago State, 4-3. Hannes was dominating in singles play rolling past Nellie Bloomberg of South Dakota State and Ameena Payne of Chicago State 6-0, 6-0. She beat Stephanie Harmazy of Eastern Illinois 6-1, 6-2 in the Panthers lone loss of the weekend. 

• She is 7-1 in dual meet singles play this season, and is currently No. 5 on the Panthers all-time wins list with 77 career victories. She needs seven more wins to tie Nancy Land's school record. She is also fifth all-time in singles career winning percentage, winning 68.1 percent of her matches.

 

PANTHER SWEEPS

• UNI has swept three opponents this season after rolling past South Dakota State, 7-0, at home on Feb. 22. The Panthers also swept UMKC and Wisconsin-Green Bay this year.

 

NO SUNDAY FUN DAY

• Both of UNI's two losses this season came on Sunday's. UNI lost its first match of the season to Marquette, 6-1, on Feb. 17, and fell, 4-3, against Eastern Illinois this past Sunday. The Panthers are 1-2 on Sundays this year.

 

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE

• UNI has won 15 of its last 17 matches at the Black Hawk Tennis Club. The Panthers are 4-1 at home this season after Eastern Illinois handed the Panthers its first home loss of the season this past Sunday.

 

PARITALA EARNS MVC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS

• University of Northern Iowa senior Meghana Paritala (Secunderaba, India) was named State Farm Missouri Valley Conference women's tennis athlete of the week, the league announced Feb. 18.

• Paritala finished 3-0 in No. 1 singles play during a three match road trip in Wisconsin this weekend. She helped the Panthers finish 2-1 in dual meet play with victories over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-1, and Wisconsin-Green Bay, 7-0. In UNI's first dual meet loss of the season against Marquette she was the lone Panthers to win, beating Erin Watkins 6-3, 6-3.

 

ROAD TRIP

• The Panthers finished 2-1 on its three-match road trip in Wisconsin last weekend. Marquette handed UNI its first loss of the 2008 season, 6-1. Senior Meghana Paritala was the lone Panther to pick up a victory in No. 1 singles play over Erin Watkins 6-3, 6-3.

• The Panthers were able to pick up two road victories over Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-1, and Wisconsin-Green Bay, 7-0.

 

PANTHERS 4-0 FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT SEASON

• The UNI tennis team started its season 4-0 for the fourth consecutive year. The Panthers started its season winning two home matches over UMKC, 7-0 and Western Illinois 6-1, and rolled past Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 6-1, and Wisconsin-Green Bay, 7-0, to improve to 4-0 on the season.

 

CHASING HISTORY

• Meghana Paritala won her 81st career singles match against Sandra Sasidharan of Eastern Illinois 6-0, 6-0 on Feb. 24. Paritala is currently fourth on the all-time career wins list, and is only three wins behind the Panthers all-time leader, Nancy Land. Teammate Carolina Hannes sits in fifth place on the all-time list with 77 career victories.

 

• Paritala and Hannes hold the second and fifth spots respectively on the Panthers career winning percentage in singles play. Paritala has won 71.0 percent of her matches and Hannes has been victorious in 68.1 percent of her matches. Robin Ross is the Panthers' all-time leader, winning 73.5 percent of her matches. 

 

DOUBLE TROUBLE

• Meghana Paritala and Carolina Hannes are currently sixth and seventh on UNI's all-time career doubles wins list. Paritala has 68 career wins playing doubles and Hannes 62.

 

KANADE EARNS MVC ATHLETE OF THE WEEK HONORS

• University of Northern Iowa sophomore Sampada Kanade (Mumbai, India) earned State Farm Missouri Valley Conference women's tennis Athlete of the Week honors, the league announced on Feb. 5.

• Kanade was perfect, posting a 2-0 singles record along with a 2-0 doubles mark. She helped UNI cruise to a 2-0 overall mark with victories over UMKC (7-0) and Western Illinois (5-2). The sophomore earned a 6-1, 6-2 win against UMKC's Chelsea Horner and topped Western Illinois's Kim Lennartsson 6-1, 6-2 in No. 1 singles play. Kanade also teamed with Taynara Moraes to earn a pair of wins in the No. 1 doubles slot.

 

PANTHER WOES

• Freshman Diana Mendez was the lone Panther to pick up a victory last week at in the Panthers spring season opener at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa. Mendez beat Iowa's Kayla Berry 6-4, (4-6), 10-6. UNI lost every match on the first day of competition against Iowa in doubles play and Iowa State in singles. The Panthers lost six out of seven singles matches to Iowa on the final day of competition and all three doubles matches against Iowa State.

 

GONZALEZ-GARRIDO JOINS PANTHERS

• Laia Gonzalez-Garrido (Vinaros, Spain) is coach Sachin Kirtane's newest addition to the Panther squad for the spring season. Gonzalez-Garrido has been ranked as high as No. 120 in the open rankings in Spain. She has a lot of experience playing tournaments all over Europe and is one of the top players in Spain. She will help make the Panther line-up a lot deeper and stronger, Kirtane said.

 

KIRTANE ADDS FIRST PLAYER TO 2008-2009 ROSTER

• Talia Jang-Stewart (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) signed a National Letter-of-Intent to play tennis for the Panthers in the 2008-2009 season. She is a top junior Canadian tennis player and will be able to contribute to the Panthers' squad next season.

 

SECONDS ALL AROUND

• Two UNI tennis players finished second at the Missouri Valley Individual Championships in Omaha, Neb., on Sept. 30. Carolina Hannes was runner-up in No. 5 singles, losing to Marie Caujolle of Indiana State 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. Freshman Diana Mendez lost in the No. 6 finals to Tanja Hrovatic of Illinois State 6-2, 6-2.

 

• The Panthers also brought home two runner-up finishes in doubles play at the MVC Individual Championships. The duo of Sampada Kanade and Taynara Moraes lost in No. 1 doubles play to Indiana State's Jennifer Migan and Joanne Schickerling, 8-3. The other Panther team to finish second was Meghana Paritala and Diana Mendez in No. 3 doubles play. Carolyne Parent and Tanja Hrovatic beat the Panther squad, 8-3.

 

PANTHERS DOUBLE TEAM WINS AT MINNESOTA

• The doubles team of Diana Mendez and Ashton Schwerin won the Star Doubles Flight at the Minnesota Invitational on Sept. 16. The freshman duo beat Nellie Bloomberg and Jenny Sondreal of South Dakota State, 8-2.

 

MORAES FINISHES FOURTH AT MINNESOTA

• Junior Taynara Moraes was the Panthers' top singles finisher at the Minnesota Invitational, placing fourth in the Gold Singles Flight. Moraes lost her third-place match to Jackie Sperling of Minnesota 6-4, 6-3.

 

PANTHERS OPEN FALL SEASON AT DRAKE

• Freshman Diana Mendez started her Panther career on the right foot going 2-1 during the Lloyd Stockstad Invitational in Des Moines Sept. 7-8. Mendez rolled past Drake's Sarah Plowman and Kari Sloboth before being knocked out in the Class B semifinals by Erin Karonis of Iowa State 6-2, 6-1.

• Senior Meghana Paritala beat Chrissy Dercuin of Iowa State 6-3, 6-2 in her season opener, but was knocked out in the second round of Class A play by Nebraska's Ashley Finnegan 6-4, 6-3. Paritala was the defending champion at the Lloyd Stockstad Invitational.

• Senior Carolina Hannes bounced back after dropping her opening match to Karonis of Iowa State 6-1, 6-1, and was able to reach the finals of the Class B consolation bracket.

 

HEAD COACH Sachin Kirtane

Sachin Kirtane begins his sixth season as the University of Northern Iowa's women's tennis coach. In five seasons at the helm, Kirtane has turned the program around, going 17-6 last season. Kirtane has an overall record of 66-42 as the Panther head coach. He ranks second in both career wins (66) and all-time winning percentage (.611). Kirtane needs 17 victories to catch all-time wins leader Pete Mazula. Mazula also holds the all-time winning percentage mark (.664).

 

Kirtane has guided the Panthers to three consecutive winning seasons, including a 19-4 record in the 2005 season. During the 2005 campaign, Kirtane led the Panthers to their first Missouri Valley Conference championship match only to lose regular season champion Illinois State.

 

In 2007, Kirtane led the Panthers to a second place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 6-2 league record. Kirtane holds a 16-10 conference mark the past three seasons after 1-8 records in his first two seasons.

 

His second season saw the team achieve the goal he had set forth of simply to, "get better." The team, while boasting only one senior, went 7-12 overall.

 

From 1998-2002, Kirtane was the assistant men's and women's tennis coach at Valdosta State University. He helped lead both teams to the finals of the Gulf South Conference Championships in 1998-99. In 2000, the men's team was ranked fourth in the nation. The women's team won the conference title and reached the semi-finals of the NCAA Division II Championship in Pensacola, Fla. In 2001, the men's team was ranked second in the nation and won its second consecutive conference title.

 

Kirtane graduated from VSU in 1998 with a marketing degree. In 2000, he earned his master's from VSU in business administration.

 

Kirtane was a scholarship athlete for VSU's tennis team from 1994-98. He was awarded all-conference and all-America honors. He also was a member of the Student Advisory Committee. He participated in the Division II National Tournament and won the Gulf South Conference championship in 1995. He was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1996. Kirtane was a member of the team that finished fourth in the national tournament in 1994-95. In 1992-93, he played professionally. He also played in the ITF International Junior Ranking Tournaments in 1990-91.