University of Delaware Athletics
Balanced Delaware Women's Tennis Squad Returns to Court This Weekend for Towson Tiger Classic
9/11/2014 5:34:00 PM | Women's Tennis
NEWARK, Del. – The University of Delaware women's tennis squad will return to the court for the 2014 fall campaign this Friday and Saturday with five matches at the Towson Tiger Classic.
Laura Travis, the Blue Hens feature a balanced roster for the coming season with three seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen and look to build upon last year's 8-8 record. This season will mark Travis' 23rd as the women's tennis head coach at her alma mater, where she currently holds an all-time career record of 257-133.Key returners for Delaware include senior Kim Milla (México City, México/CONAMAT) and junior Nataliya Naumova (Moscow, Russia/ Moscow 98 School No. 1953). Over her four-year career for the Hens, Milla has tallied a 32-27 record while Naumova has posted a mark of 31-30 in a Delaware uniform.
Milla and Naumova were two of five Blue Hens players who finished 2013-14 with double-digit singles victories.
Top-flight singles player Danea Jonjic' (Split Croatia/Croatia Natural Sciences & Technical) also returns to action for UD. The junior battled an injury most of last season before compiling marks of 5-10 (singles) and 8-5 (doubles). Jonjic' is currently amidst a three-match winning streak and holds a career record of 22-22.
Seniors Christina Harrington (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) and Abby Martinez (Winter Haven, Fla./Winter Haven) also look to bounce back from injury after sitting out the majority of last season.
UD welcomes Denny Lamachia (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton), Arielle Shuren (Montebello, N.Y./Suffern) and Amanda Studnicki (Normal, Ill./Normal West) to the roster for the upcoming season.
Lamachia joins the Hens as a sophomore from the University of Richmond, where she was an ITA Scholar-Athlete and went 5-2 in singles action last spring while Shuren and Studnicki are true freshmen for Delaware.
The trio will be looked to make an impact immediately as Delaware will have to overcome the loss of two of the program's best players in Olivia Heim and Dorothy Safron. The duo each finished their Blue Hen tenure by placing in the Top 11 for career singles wins.
Delaware opens play in the Towson Tiger Classic with a 2 p.m. match against George Washington Friday before playing Saint Joseph's at 6 p.m. Saturday features a full slate of matches as the Hens face Mount St. Mary's (11 a.m.), Towson (1 p.m.) and UMBC (3 p.m. – doubles action only). The team wraps up play Sunday at 11 a.m. against Loyola (Md.).
The Hens continue fall play Sept. 26-28 at the Saint Joseph's Tournament before competing in the Navy Blue and Gold Invitational on Oct. 10-12.
Players Mentioned
