April 23, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER TENNIS

April 25-27       

Fri., April 25               vs. Southern Illinois        10:00 a.m.

 

The University of Northern Iowa women's tennis team finished the regular season 13-8 overall and 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play. The Panthers earned the No. 4 in the 2008 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship and will face the No. 5 seed Southern Illinois Friday, April 25 at 10:00 a.m. at the Koch Family Tennis Center on the Creighton University campus in Omaha, Neb. The Panthers beat the Salukis, 5-2 at Southern Illinois on April 12. Last year, Southern Illinois, the No. 6 seed upset the No. 3 seeded Panthers, 4-0 in the first round of MVC tournament.

 

MATCH NOTES

• The Salukis lead the all-time series over the Panthers, 9-8.

• UNI head coach Sachin Kirtane is 4-3 all-time against Southern Illinois.

• The Panthers have had recent success against the Salukis winning four of the last five meetings.

• The Salukis are led by senior Sabine Tsala Mvilong. Mvilong is 15-7 in No. 1 singles this year and 6-2 in league play. Jessica Flannery has also been solid this year for the Salukis, posting a 5-3 record in MVC No. 4 singles this year.

• Southern Illinois is 24-24 in Missouri Valley Conference singles matches this season.

• In doubles play, Southern Illinois has only won 37.5 percent of its Missouri Valley Conference matches this year.

• The Salukis lost to Illinois State in its last match on April 20, 5-2.

 

MAKING HISTORY

• Senior Carolina Hannes won her 85th career singles match over Rachelle Shoji of Creighton, 6-0, 6-3 on April 20 and is now first on UNI's all-time career wins. She is 21-11 on the season.

 

• "This is a tremendous accomplishment for Carolina," head coach Sachin Kirtane said. "She has been solid for us all year, and we know we can always count on her at the bottom of our line up."

 

• Senior Meghana Paritala is currently in a tie for second on the all-time career wins list, and is only one win from tying the Panthers' all-time leader, teammate Carolina Hannes. Paritala is 13-18 on the season.

 

• Hannes and Paritala also hold the fourth and seventh spots respectively on the Panthers' career winning percentage list in singles play. Hannes has won 68.0 percent of her matches and Paritala has been victorious in 66.1 percent of her matches. Robin Ross is the Panthers' all-time leader, winning 73.5 percent of her matches.

 

NEAR PERFECT ON SATURDAY

• The Panthers are nearly perfect on Saturdays this season, winning six of its seven matches this season. Wichita State ended the Panthers perfect streak on Saturdays this past weekend by beating the Panthers, 7-0.

 

DOUBLE TROUBLE

• Meghana Paritala is currently in fourth on the UNI all-time doubles wins list and teammate Carolina Hannes is seventh. Paritala has 76 career wins playing doubles and Hannes has 68.

 

MOARES NAMED MVC SCHOLAR -ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

• UNI junior Taynara Moraes was 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 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 the fourth time this season the UNI tennis team was swept by an opponent. Wichita State swept the Panthers this past weekend, and Indiana State swept UNI on April 6 at the Black Hawk Tennis Club. College of Charleston also swept the Panthers, 7-0, on March 19 and the University of Nebraska swept UNI, 4-0, on March 2. The Panthers were swept three times last season.

 

PANTHERS EDGE AIR FORCE

• UNI won its seventh match of the season on 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 16 of its last 20 matches at the Black Hawk Tennis Club. The Panthers finished the season 5-3 at home this season after falling to both Illinois State and Indiana State on April 4 and 6.

 

PANTHER SWEEPS

• UNI has swept four opponents this season after rolling past Creighton, 7-0 this past weekend. The Panthers also swept South Dakota State, UMKC and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

 

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.

 

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 73-48 as the Panther head coach. He ranks second in both career wins (73) and all-time winning percentage (.603). Kirtane needs 10 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.