George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Tennis 2016 Season Outlook
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
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Jan. 28, 2016
WASHINGTON - The George Washington women's tennis squad begins its 2016 campaign on Friday as the Colonials visit local foe Howard for a 12 p.m. match.
Led by third-year head coach Greg Munoz, the Colonials return six letterwinners and add three freshmen to the spring 2016 roster.
GW advanced to the 2015 Atlantic 10 Championship quarterfinals before falling to would-be champion VCU last season.
Sophomore Teodora Radosavljevic returns after a stellar freshman campaign in which she earned an A-10 All-Conference First Team nod with a team-best 19-10 singles record - the most total victories by a rookie since Nadia Demidenko's 19 triumphs in 2007-08. The Belgrade, Serbia, native posted a strong fall 2015 tournament season with a flight championship and an overall 8-2 solo record en route to a No. 18 ITA Atlantic Region singles ranking to begin 2016. Radosavljevic will also play a key role in GW's doubles lineup.
"Teodora has always been super powerful," said Coach Munoz. "She has improved her doubles a lot and she has a new dedication to her fitness. She's always one of the hardest workers and she's focused on a strict diet and conditioning - that all shows in her performance on the court as seen in her fall success."
Senior Lana Robins looks to return to top form after battling injury throughout the 2014-15 season. Despite her setbacks, Robins earned Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference distinction and posted an overall 7-10 solo mark with a 7-9 doubles record. The Bellevue, Washington, product is expected to battle for the top spot in GW's singles lineup.
"Lana is playing great tennis right now," said Coach Munoz. "She's playing pretty close to where she was at the beginning of the fall of 2014. Lana is going to push Teodora for the top spot."
Freshman Diana Kussainova will look to make an immediate impact in the spring after an exceptional fall season, where the rookie posted a team-best 8-0 solo mark, winning a pair of tournament flight championships in her first semester as a Colonial. The Almaty, Kazakhstan, native earned a No. 114 ITA singles ranking to begin 2016 and also enters the season as the ITA Atlantic Region's No. 16 solo player. Kussainova looks to recover from a winter injury and help the Colonials advance deep into the Atlantic 10 Championships.
"Diana is determined to play as high as she can in the lineup," said Coach Munoz. "Her determination makes the team stronger, but she needs to get healthy."
Sophomore Marie-Louise Decamps looks to build on a strong freshman season, when the Sao Paulo, Brazil, native posted an overall 11-8 singles record and a 5-3 dual match mark playing at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots. Decamps enters the spring after putting together a solid 6-5 solo record in fall play.
Juniors Allison Hansen and Taylor Nederlander return for the Colonials after splitting time between the Nos. 4-6 singles positions last season. As a duo, Hansen and Nederlander played primarily at the top doubles spot. The pair will be joined by freshman Victoria Kogan as strong doubles competitors.
"I feel great about our doubles this year," said Coach Munoz. "I feel we have eight players that will contribute to the doubles lineup at some point throughout the year. Allison Hansen and Victoria Kogan have certainly shown that they can compete for us in the doubles. I think it's probably going to come down to Victoria and Taylor and Allison, they're all fighting for the six spot right now, so they know it's on the line and they're pushing each other to get better."
Freshman Sara Grubac of Belgrade, Serbia, joined the Colonials in the spring semester and is quickly getting acclimated to college academics and athletics. The rookie joins GW after claiming a Serbian national championship in 2015.
"Sara is getting accustomed to the training and I think she's climbing fast," said Coach Munoz.
Senior Egle Jakuciunaite tallied a 5-2 singles record in the fall, reaching a flight final at Navy's Blue & Gold Invitational.
The Colonials look to compete for an Atlantic 10 title in 2016, but remaining focused and staying healthy will be crucial to the team's success. Coach Munoz also hopes to see his squad break into the ITA's top-75 team rankings. The Colonials will have opportunities to move toward the rankings with match-ups against No. 57 Old Dominion and No. 75 Maryland on the schedule, as well as several other programs on the cusp of the national rankings.
"I think every match this year is super important because I feel we have a top-75 program, but we can't lose matches we're not supposed to and we can't lose to unranked teams," said Coach Munoz.
"We just have to be really careful and really focused and take every match with concern and care and play hard and be ready," said Coach Munoz. "This team is going to keep moving in the right direction. Last year was unfortunate because our top three were all injured. Now we're getting healthier and players that struggled last year are going to show some big changes, as well as the newcomers."
Players Mentioned
