April 2, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER TENNIS

April 4-6           

Fri., April 4                   Illinois State      2:00    p.m.

Sat., April 5                  Bradley             12:00  p.m.

Sun., April 6                 Indiana State     11:00  a.m.

 

The University of Northern Iowa (9-5) women's tennis team will host its final three matches of the season this weekend at the Black Hawk Tennis Club. The Panthers will face three MVC foes Illinois State, Bradley and Indiana State.

 

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS

Illinois State

• The Redbirds are 8-8 on the season and 2-1 in the MVC.

• Illinois State finished in a tie for second in the MVC last year finishing 6-2 in league play.

• Julia Zubkova has won a team best 20 matches this season. She is 20-9 overall and 9-5 in dual meet singles.

• Illinois State is 48-48 in dual meet singles this season.

• The Redbirds have won 42.2 percent of its dual meet doubles matches this season.

• Illinois State started conference play 2-0 before falling to Indiana State, 5-2 last week.

• The Redbirds are 3-6 on the road this year.

• Illinois State leads the all-time series with the Panthers, 21-4

 

Bradley

• Bradley is 3-7 on the year and 0-2 in the MVC.

• The Braves finished last in the MVC last season going winless in league play.

• Nicole Miller and Emily Regenold are 7-3 in dual meet No. 2 doubles.

• Kim Bran has won a team best eight matches this season.

• The Braves have struggled in dual meet singles this season winning 30.5 percent of its matches.

• Bradley is 13-6 in dual meet doubles this season, but is 0-6 in MVC doubles.
• Bradley leads the all-time series with the Panthers, 22-13.

• UNI head coach Sachin Kirtane is 5-0 all-time against Bradley.

 

Indiana State

• Indiana State is 4-6 this season and 2-0 in conference play.

• The Sycamores finished tied for second last year in the MVC.

• Indiana State is led by standout Jennifer Migan in No. 1 singles. Migan is 18-3 overall this year and 9-1 in dual meet singles.

• Migan has teamed with Joanne Schickerling to go 17-2 overall in doubles play. The duo is 7-0 in dual meet No. 1 doubles.

• Indiana State is 33-27 in dual meet singles this year and 16-14 in dual meet doubles.

• Indiana State has dominated the all-time series with the Panthers, winning 21 of the 23 meetings. The Panthers last victory over Indiana State came in 2002.

• UNI head coach Sachin Kirtane is 0-5 all-time against Indiana State.                        

 

CHASING HISTORY

• Meghana Paritala won her 82nd career singles match against Christine Abayan of Air Force 7-5, 6-3 on March 1, but is currently on a five-match losing streak. She ranks fourth on the all-time career wins list, and is only two wins behind the Panthers all-time leader, Nancy Land. If Paritala wins all her No. 1 singles matches this weekend, she will take over the top spot on the all-time wins list. Teammate Carolina Hannes sits in fifth place on the all-time list with 80 career victories and has won three of her last four matches.

 

• Paritala and Hannes hold the fourth and fifth spots respectively on the Panthers' career winning percentage in singles play. Paritala has won 68.3 percent of her matches and Hannes has been victorious in 67.7 percent of her matches. Robin Ross is the Panthers' all-time leader, winning 73.5 percent of her matches.

 

MOARES NAMED MVC SCHOLAR -ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

• UNI junior Taynara Moraes has been selected the Prairie Farms/Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athletes of the Week, Commissioner Doug Elgin announced on April 2.  • Moraes, who has a 3.01 cumulative grade-point average in economics, was honored for her performances during the period of March 24-30. She defeated Drake's Sarah Plowman 3-6, 6-1 and 7-5 at No. 4 singles, and at No. 1 doubles, she teamed with Meghana Paritala to earn a 9-7 victory over Veronika Leszayova and Plowman.

 

FOUR TO THREE

• Six of UNI's first 14 matches have ended with the final score 4-3. The Panthers beat Drake, 4-3 on March 30 in their first Missouri Valley Conference match this season. The Panthers are 4-2 this season when the final score is 4-3.

 

SWEEPING

• For just the second time this season the UNI tennis team was swept by an opponent. College of Charleston swept the Panthers, 7-0, on March 19 and the University of Nebraska swept UNI, 4-0, on March 2. The Panthers were only swept three times last season.

 

DOUBLE TROUBLE

• Meghana Paritala is currently in fifth on the UNI all-time doubles wins list and teammate Carolina Hannes is seventh. Paritala has 72 career wins playing doubles and Hannes, has 63.

 

PANTHERS EDGE AIR FORCE

• UNI won its seventh match of the season on Saturday, March 1 holding off Air Force, 4-3, in Lincoln, Neb. The Panthers won all three doubles matches to win the pivotal doubles point. The Panthers are 4-0 on Saturdays this season.

 

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 Feb. 24.

 

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.

 

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 Feb. 26. This is the third time this season a Panther tennis player has earned this honor.

• 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. 

 

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 on Feb. 15-17. 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.

 

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 in the Panthers spring season opener at the Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa on Jan. 25-26. 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.