Pronouncing the names of freshmen players Mariia Solnyshkina of Russia, Paulina Bakaite of Lithuania, Kamila Umarova of Uzbekistan and Basak Akbas of Turkey is not a problem for FIU women’s tennis coach Katarina Petrovic.
The names roll off the tongue of the well-traveled Petrovic, a native of Serbia who travels to the European Tennis Championships every year to recruit potential FIU players.
“That’s my must-go event,” Petrovic said. “And the best thing a coach can do when recruiting a player is pronounce her name correctly.”
Petrovic’s linguistic skills are obviously impeccable because her current recruiting class is ranked No. 10 in the nation as well as No. 1 in Conference USA, No. 1 among all Florida tennis programs, and No. 1 among mid-major schools.
It’s hard to say which of FIU’s four freshmen is the best, but Umarova recently made it to the quarterfinals of the Hilton Head Island 15K in South Carolina. She also teamed with FIU senior Maryna Veksler this past weekend to win the No. 1 doubles championship at the Bedford Cup, which included Miami Hurricanes players.
Akbas won the No. 2 singles title at the same tournament. And, in singles, Umarova beat Miami’s Daniella Roldan in straight sets.
Academically, Umarova, Solnyshkina and Bakaite are all planning to study international business. Akbas plans to study finance.
Another common thread among these standout freshmen is their athleticism. Solnyshkina played hockey back home. Umarova and Akbas were skiers, and Bakaite enjoys swimming.
Half of FIU’s eight-player roster is comprised of these four freshmen, but that does not concern the Panthers coach.
“This is the youngest team I’ve ever coached,” Petrovic said, “but I think it’s exciting.”
Petrovic needed this impressive recruiting class because last spring, the Panthers last spring graduated one of the best players in program history, Andrea Lazaro of Spain.
As a senior, Lazaro was named an All-American and finished the season with a No. 13 NCAA ranking. She also led FIU to its first Conference USA title and was named the league’s top singles player.
And she finished with a 30-5 record, winning the 2017 Oracle ITA National Fall Championship.
“She had a great impact,” Petrovic said. “Hopefully one of the freshmen can take her spot.”
If not one of the rookies, perhaps Sandra Bozinovic can emerge. The sophomore from France made Conference USA’s All-Freshman team last season.
“She’s an aggressive player,” Bozinovic said. “She hits the hardest ball on the team. We are working on her consistency and keeping her in the best shape.”
Senior leadership will come from Gabriela Ferreira of Paraguay and Veksler of Ukraine. Ferreira, who started her career at Baylor, missed last spring due to injury but is now healthy. Veksler is a two-time first-team All-C-USA player.
Petrovic also said FIU has one scholarship available to hand out if she can find the right player before the spring season starts in January.
THIS AND THAT
▪ FIU’s men’s soccer team had its 18-match Conference USA unbeaten streak snapped on Sunday night with a 3-0 loss at Charlotte.
It was FIU’s first league loss since Sept. 30, 2016.
FIU (5-7, 4-1) is still in a three-way tie for the league lead with Kentucky and Old Dominion. Next up for FIU is Friday’s home game vs. FAU (2-8, 1-3).
▪ Mercifully, the women’s soccer team (0-14-1) has just three games left in its regular season.
Be the first to comment