2016 TENNIS MEDIA GUIDE S
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News releases, photos and other services are available to accredited members of the news media. Current releases, statistics and photos can also be obtained at LATechSports.com. Editors: Kane McGuire Contributors: Thomas, Louisiana Tech News Bureau, Louisiana Tech Marketing and Public Relations Department Covers, Layout and Design: Donnie Bell Design. Photography: Donny Crowe, Tom Morris, Darrell James, James Garner, Donald Page.
T E N N I S
The 2016 Louisiana Tech tennis team information guide is a publication of the Athletics Media Relations Office. It has been designed as a source of information for the news media and Lady Techster tennis fans. Every effort has been made to include pertinent and timely information. Should you need additional information such as feature material and/or statistics, please direct your inquiries to the media relations office.
Content Athletic Vision & Mission Statement............................................................ 1 Quick Facts..................................................................................................... 2 Welcome to the Family.................................................................................. 3 Facilities....................................................................................................... 12 2016 Roster & Schedule.............................................................................. 13 Head Coach Chad Camper........................................................................... 14 Player Bios................................................................................................... 15 Opponents.................................................................................................... 24
Athletic Vision Louisiana Tech University will be a conference leader in performance by investing strategically in student-athletes’ development, providing superior facilities and enhancing program support to achieve a local and national image of success and dominance.
2015 Statistics............................................................................................. 28 2015 Match-by-Match ................................................................................ 29 2015 Results ............................................................................................... 31 Honors & Awards, Letterwinners................................................................ 32 Records........................................................................................................ 33 University President Dr. Les Guice............................................................... 35 Athletics Director Tommy McClelland......................................................... 36 Athletic Administration................................................................................ 37 Athletics Council.......................................................................................... 41 Administration, Support & Coaches............................................................ 41
Athletic Mission Statement Embody excellence in everything we do. Develop student-athletes to maximize their potential in mind, body and spirit. Bring pride, admiration, and loyalty to the University family, community and state. Win with integrity.
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2016 TENNIS QUICK FACTS GENERAL INFORMATION Location........................................................... Ruston, La. Founded..................................................................... 1894 Enrollment...............................................................12,414 Nickname....................................................Lady Techsters Colors...........................................................Red and Blue Joined C-USA................................................. July 1, 2013 President......................................................Dr. Les Guice Athletics Director.................................Tommy McClelland SWA.....................................................Mary Kay Hungate Faculty Representative......................... Dr. Donna Thomas Athletic Department................................... (318) 257-4111 TEAM INFORMATION 2015 Record....... 7-11 (Home: 5-2, Away: 1-6, Neutral: 1-3) 2015 C-USA Record...................................................... 0-2 Players R/L.................................................................... 6/2 Newcomers..................................................................... 3 First Year of Tennis..................................................... 1977 Overall All-Time Record................... 330-455 (39 seasons)
FACILITY INFORMATION Facility................................Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex First Match.................................................. Oct. 15, 2008 Facility Record.............................. 35-21 (.625), 7 seasons COACHING STAFF Head Coach................................................. Chad Camper Record at School....................................... 22-18 (3rd year) Career Record........................................................... Same Office Phone.............................................. (318) 257-4402 MEDIA RELATIONS Tennis Contact............................................ Kane McGuire Office Phone.............................................. (318) 257-5071 Cell Phone................................................. (318) 548-2161 Email................................................ kmcguire@latech.edu Website............................................... LATechSports.com Twitter........................................................... @LATechTEN Facebook......................................................LATechTennis
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we are louisiana tech university
welcome to the family
“ Athletics is a central part of Louisiana Tech and an integral component of our efforts to elevate the institution’s national standing. It is essential that we continue to focus on the success of our student-athletes and ensure that a winning athletics program is achieved with integrity and class.” -- Tech President Dr. Les Guice
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this is
Louisiana Tech
AT LOUISIANA TECH YOU ARE NOT A NUMBER, YOU ARE FAMILY. LOUISIANA TECH ranked as a Tier One National University according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 Best Colleges Report. i s north Louisiana’s only Carnegie RU/H “High Research” and SREB Four-Year Doctoral 2 Research University. is the highest ranked university in Louisiana and No. 13 in the nation for return on investment (ROI) for graduates (PayScale.com’s 2014-15 College Salary Report). i s ranked as one of the nation’s 25 Most Affordable Colleges (for both in-state and out-of-state students) by Newsweek and The Daily Beast. i s ranked highest in Louisiana and No. 21 in the nation for providing its graduates with the best returns on their investments (ROI) in their college educations (AdvisorOne). is ranked highest in the state of Louisiana and No. 11 in the nation on list of “25 Most Underrated Colleges in America” from Business Insider.
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is ranked highest in the state of Louisiana and No. 17 in nation among “Low Cost Colleges with High Starting Salaries for Graduates” (Affordable Colleges Online).
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MORE THAN 700 COMPANIES WORLDWIDE TRAVEL TO CAMPUS EACH YEAR TO RECRUIT LOUISIANA TECH GRADUATES
Dr. Les Guice became the 14th president in the history of Louisiana Tech University on July 1, 2013. “ Louisiana Tech has a really great foundation of excellence, and we’re not starting from scratch by any means. We’ve got so many of the ingredients in place. My vision is to continue to progress Louisiana Tech in national prominence, but to turn that national prominence into things that bring benefit to North Louisiana, to our citizens of this state and to all of the students and stakeholders of the university.” -- D r. Les Guice, University President
QUARTER SYSTEM – BIG ADVANTAGE FOR THE STUDENT-ATHLETE Louisiana Tech has a unique advantage of being on the quarter system as opposed to the semester system. The quarter system provides significant advantages for the students: Lighter workload (take 3 classes instead of 5)
Shorter academic sessions (12 weeks instead of 18)
More frequent breaks during and between academic sessions
ore opportunities to withdraw or drop a class and still M remain TOPS eligible
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T O D AY ’ S F R E S H M A N I S
TOMORROW’s GRADUATE LOUISIANA TECH saw 27 student-athletes earn the C-USA Commissioner’s Academic Medal. saw 124 student-athletes named to the C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll. ranked second in the state of Louisiana among Division I footballplaying public institutions with an 81 percent graduation success rate. saw Kathryn Sloan (soccer) and Xavier Woods (football) earn Conference USA All-Academic honors.
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Louisiana Tech’s student-athletes recorded an all-time high four-year graduation success rate of 80 percent, which was four percentage points better than the previous record-high of 76 percent.
LOUISIANA TECH boasts the University of Louisiana System’s highest graduation rate at 53.9 percent. boasts the states fastest time to completion for first time baccalaureates at 4.4 years. boasts the ULS’ highest average freshman ACT scores at 24.7.
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SUCCESS BREEDS
SUCCESS
LOUISIANA TECH’S ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT: completed the $22 million south end zone facility, named the Davison Athletics Complex, which is set to open in late August with the 302-seat Club Level sold out. set a record 1,100 donors that donated $1,150,000 to LTAC last fiscal year while a total of $1.5 million unrestricted dollars were donated. saw a big jump in overall ticket sales for men’s and women’s basketball which increased by 73 percent and 50 percent, respectively. r olled out the blue carpet for the inaugural TECHSPY Awards held at Howard Auditorium, an ESPY-like event to help celebrate the past year’s athletic achievements.
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ON THE PLAYING FIELDS:
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Men’s Basketball won the C-USA regular season title, the third straight league title for the program and the first outright title since 1999, and advanced to the NIT quarterfinals for a second straight year which included a victory at Texas A&M. Soccer head coach Kevin Sherry and star player Kathryn Sloan earned Louisiana Coach and Player of the Year honors in light of the team posting a 13-6-3 record and winning their first ever postseason match which advanced them to the C-USA Tournament semifinals. Tennis junior Alexandra Starkova was named First Team All-Conference USA, becoming the first Lady Techster in program history to be a three-time all-conference member. Baseball registered 10 more wins than the previous year under the direction of first-year head coach Greg Goff, an improvement that was the seventh most in program history, while also tying a Bulldog record with a 12-game non-conference winning streak. Bowling joined the newly-formed Southland Bowling League, along with seven other of the nation’s top NCAA teams, with the immediate goals of competing at the highest level and automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the near future. Volleyball outside hitter Rebecca Redgen earned Second Team All-Conference USA honors, becoming the first allconference honoree for LA Tech since 2009. Golfer Victor Lange was named Conference USA’s Golfer of the Year while also earning a bid to the NCAA Regionals for a second straight year, finishing in the top 25 during the three-round event. Football won the Conference USA West Division title and accepted a bid to play in the Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl where they defeated Illinois, 35-18, to post the program’s first bowl victory since 2008. Indoor track and field star Jarvis Gotch recorded the eighth longest jump in the world for the season and set the school record with a mark of 26-7.75 (8.12m) at the Vanderbilt Indoor Invitational. Outdoor track and field sprinter Charla Craddock (200m) and long jumper Jarrett Samuels received honorable mention All-America honors for their top-20 finishes at the NCAA Championships. Women’s basketball received a flood of national media coverage, including feature pieces by 60-Minute Sports, USA Today, SI.com, ESPN.com, NBC Nightly News, ESPN SportsCenter, New York Times, CNN.com, and more in Tyler Summitt’s first year as head coach. Softball head coach Mark Montgomery guided the Lady Techsters to a 31-win season, the most victories since 2008, and came three outs away from defeating WCWS participant LSU in Baton Rouge.
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MALONE
POON WEATHERS
BRADSHAW
BROOKS
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LOUISIANA TECH’S
PROMINENT ALUMNI Louisiana Tech continues to give back on a global level in every profession and every day, either on center stage or behind the scenes. Tech alums seize the opportunity on campus to make a difference off it; because of you, the University’s influence spreads, now more than ever. Leon Barmore: Best winning percentage of any other coach in history of NCAA women’s basketball, five-time Hall of Famer Albert Bourland: Retired President of Daimler-Benz Washington, Inc., manufacturer of Mercedes Benz Terry Bradshaw: Member of FOX NFL Sunday, NFL Hall of Fame, No. 1 pick in the 1970 NFL draft, winner of four Super Bowls Kix Brooks: Songwriter, guitar player, entertainer, Tech fan, host of American Country Music Countdown John D. Caruthers, Jr.: Former President of the Seven States I-69 Mid-Continent Highway Coalition Tara Collins: Developer of the MediKin Hematology Teaching Vein, a “hands on” way of understanding blood disorders and diseases, especially HIV/AIDS
CARUTHERS
HOWELL
POST
James Davison: Developer of Squire Creek Country Club, Board of Directors for Genesis Energy, former Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System Benny Denny: Former CEO of Bank of Ruston, Former President of Louisiana Tech University Foundation Rosemary Ellis: Former editor of Good Housekeeping Magazine A.C. Hollins, Jr.: Vice President/Director of Operations & Infrastructure for National Security Technologies, LLC (NSTec), Las Vegas Emily Howell and Julie Bartlett Stephenson: Back-toback recipients of “Teacher of the Year” award in Louisiana, high school division, in 2012 and 2011; Jenny Marie Blalock was 2011 Louisiana Elementary School Teacher of the Year
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WYLY
BARMORE ELLIS
Eddie McGough: Senior Vice President for Alcon Laboratories, a global medical company specializing in eye care products
NICHOLSON
Michael McCallister: Former Chairman of the Board/ CEO of Humana, Inc., which employs 30,000 nationwide and has revenues of $33 billion
T E N N I S
Karl Malone: Two-time NBA MVP, Ruston-area businessman, member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, second-leading scorer in NBA history
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Sandy Johnson: President/owner of Barrios Technology in Houston; earned NASA’s highest award – the George M. Low Award for Quality and Excellence, won twice – and in 2004 received NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal.
Hilton Nicholson: CEO of Sixnet, member of FCC Advisory Board
Teresa Weatherspoon: Named one of the top 15 players in WNBA history, Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer, former coach of the Lady Techsters basketball team, Olympic gold medalist and Wade Trophy winner Sam Wyly: Co-founder of Green Mountain Energy, Maverick Capital, Ranger Capital Group, Michaels Stores, and Sterling Software, Inc.
DAVISON
Phil Robertson: Founder of the Duck Commander business and creator of the Duck Commander call, professional hunter, reality television star
JOHNSON
Glen Post, III: Chief Executive Officer and President of CenturyLink, the third largest telecommunications company in America
ROBERTSON
Scott Poole: Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Roy O. Martin Lumber Company, one of the largest independently owned forest products companies in the South
DENNY
Mervin Parker: Corporate Forestry Manager of Hunt Forest Products, a privately held company with more than 65,000 acres of timberland owned and managed and more than 700 employees in the state of Louisiana
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LOUISIANA TECH TENNIS COMPLEX Situated in the heart of all of the Louisiana Tech athletic facilities -- surrounded by Joe Aillet Stadium, the Thomas Assembly Center, the Lady Techster Soccer Complex and the Jim Mize Track and Field Complex -- are eight lighted tennis courts that make up the LA Tech Tennis Complex. Construction on the facility began in March 2008 and concluded five months later in August. Then on Oct. 15, 2008, the women’s tennis team played and swept Grambling State in their inaugural match at the new facility. A dedication ceremony took place two weeks later as then Tech President Dr. Dan Reneau officially announced it as the Louisiana Tech Tennis Complex. Last spring, the courts were resurfaced. The Lady Techsters have tallied an all-time record of 35-21 at their home courts. Since the spring of 2011, the team is 28-9 at home. Since then it has seen the Lady Techsters host its first-ever conference match on April 8, 2010 against Hawai’i. They then notched their first-ever conference win a few days later on April 10 against San Jose State.
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T E N N I S
Name Class/Exp. Hometown Haley Ballinger SO/1L Monroe, La. Jazmin Britos JR/2L Villarrica, Paraguay Zoe Chen FR/HS Tiachung, Taiwan Manoela Chiacchio SR/3L Sao Paulo, Brazil Meryl Culot FR/HS Brussels, Belgium Alba Escalona Perny SO/TR Madrid, Spain Taly Merker SR/3L Guayaquil, Ecuador Marta Sramkova JR/2L Bratislava, Slovakia Alexandra Starkova SR/3L Madrid, Spain
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2016 Roster
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE Manoela Chiacchio (KEE-ah-KEE-oh) Marta Sramkova (shram-KO-vuh)
2016 Schedule Date Opponent Location Time Jan. 23 at Nicholls State Thibodaux, La. 12 p.m. Jan. 30 vs. Prairie View A&M Huntsville, Texas 9:30 a.m. Jan. 30 at Sam Houston State Huntsville, Texas 1 p.m. Feb. 5 NORTHWESTERN STATE Ruston, La. 1 p.m. Feb. 9 at McNeese State Lake Charles, La. 2 p.m. Feb. 13 at North Texas* Denton, Texas 12 p.m. Feb. 14 ALCORN STATE Ruston, La. 3 p.m. Feb. 14 GRAMBLING STATE Ruston, La. 6 p.m. Feb. 17 at Stephen F. Austin Nacogdoches, Texas 1 p.m. Feb. 19 TEXAS STATE Ruston, La. 11 a.m. Feb. 20 LAMAR Ruston, La. 12 p.m. Feb. 23 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE Ruston, La. 10:30 a.m. March 5 at Southern Miss* Hattiesburg, Miss. 11 a.m. March 8 at South Alabama Mobile, Ala. 1 p.m. March 19 at Georgia State Atlanta, Ga. 11 a.m. March 20 at Kennesaw State Kennesaw, Ga. 9 a.m. March 26 at SMU Dallas, Texas 1 p.m. March 29 at TCU Fort Worth, Texas 5:30 p.m. April 5 TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE Ruston, La. 10 a.m. April 5 NEW ORLEANS Ruston, La. 2 p.m. April 9 JACKSON STATE Ruston, La. 1 p.m. April 15 CENTRAL ARKANSAS Ruston, La. 3 p.m. April 17 at Rice* Houston, Texas 11 a.m. April 21-24 C-USA Tournament Murfreesboro, Tenn. TBA 13 @LATechTEN
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Chad Camper has already put his stamp on the Louisiana Tech women’s tennis team as head coach, now entering his third season at the helm. Determined to make the program more relevant on a regional and CHAD national level, he took the Lady Techsters this past fall into the ITA Southern Regionals as a sleeper and ended up posting 10 total singles wins over players from Mississippi State, LSU, Tulane, Auburn and South Alabama. Head Coach The level of competition ramped up even more in the spring with five matches against nationally-ranked teams. Even though LA Tech was not able to notch that big win, they consistently took points in the matches despite a spring that was a roller coaster of injuries and “Mother Nature” being very unkind with the cancellation of seven games. For a second consecutive year, Camper produced two All-Conference USA selections in Alexandra Starkova and Jazmin Britos, both of whom defeated nationally-ranked players. In his first year at the helm, he became the first LA Tech women’s tennis head coach to ever win the Louisiana Coach of the Year after taking a squad with just one upperclassman to a 15-7 record in the program’s first year in C-USA, consistently one of the top mid-major leagues in the country. The season included a program-record 11 straight wins with the Techsters also advancing to the C-USA Tournament quarterfinals Prior to LA Tech, Camper was the associate head tennis coach for men’s and women’s at his alma mater Wright State. Prior to being promoted, he served three years as an assistant coach for the Raiders. As a full-time assistant, the Lima, Ohio native was actively involved in the recruitment of future collegiate players both locally and internationally. Camper recruited the 2012 men’s Horizon League Newcomer of the Year and the 2012 men’s Horizon League Player of the Year while also coaching the men’s team to the Horizon Conference regular season title in 2011-12. On the women’s side, Camper helped take a WSU women’s program with a previous 1-21 record to having three successful seasons, including a 14-win season in 2011, with first-time victories over Xavier, Ball State and IPFW. Camper is the owner of many Wright State tennis records himself having lettered four years for the Raiders from 1998-2002. He was named the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now Horizon League) Player of the Year as well as the Wright State Male Athlete of the Year as a junior in leading his team to the conference championship in 2001. After graduating from WSU with school records of most singles wins (98), second most doubles wins (77) and second most career wins (175), Camper competed professionally on the ATP Tour from 2002-04. Camper has also had success as an independent junior development coach for the past 9 years, working with players one-on-one with the desire to play college tennis, having developed four nationally-ranked junior players for their college careers.
CAMPER
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Chiacchio Sr. | 3L
2015 ITA Doubles B Draw Champion 2013 Second Team All-WAC (Singles No. 6) 2013 Academic All-WAC
Personal: Daughter of Julio Cesar and Cibele Chiacchio ... Has a younger brother, pedro (nine) and sister, Noemia (eight) ... Born in Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 25, 1993.
FALL 2015: Compiled an 8-5 singles record ... Claimed title at Flight No. 6 of SMU Invitational, overpowering Incarnate Word’s Sara Savedra, 6-3, 6-4 in the finals ... Defeated players from ULM, Tulane and UAB to reach the semifinals of the B main draw at ITA Southern Regionals ... Posted two consolation wins against Clare Mendell of Central Florida, 6-1, 6-2 and Alexandra Lyubimova of Stetson, 6-4, 6-2 which was the 50th career singles victory ... Partnered with Meryl Culot and Taly Merker in doubles to go 8-3 ... Runner-up with Culot in Flight No. 2 at Warhawk Invitational and in Flight No. 3 at SMU Invite ... Surrendered only 12 total games in four matches with Merker, never allowing more than four games in a single match, to win the doubles B main draw of the ITA Southern Regionals ... Cruised to an 8-2 victory in the finals over Samford’s Ellie Gerlach and Iva Parapunova.
T E N N I S
Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
High School: Was ranked No. 4 in Brazil (18y) ... Finalist in 2010 for the ITF Itajai ... Finalist of the 2009 Copa Guga ... Winner of the Cred-Card Circuit in 2009. Club: Member of the Sociedade Hipica de Campinas.
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7-5 win ... Finished the year with a team-high 11-match winning streak while only surrending one set ... Had singles victories in both the WAC quarterfinals versus Texas State (4/25) and semifinals versus San Jose State (4/26) ... In doubles, partnered with Vivian ten Dolle to go 9-7 in duals and 3-4 in WAC play, all at the No. 1 position ... Clinched doubles point against UALR (3/2) with 8-5 win ... Defeated Texas State (4/25) 8-3 to help earn doubles point in WAC quarterfinal win.
SPRING 2015: Overcame a shoulder injury to go 4-7 in singles, playing eight matches at No. 5 and three at No. 6 ... First win came in a straight sets victory against Florida Gulf Coast ... Had regional wins against Northwestern State and Tyler Junior College ... Clinched the win versus Stephen F. Austin with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory ... Went 5-8 in doubles, partnering with Taly Merker and Jazmin Britos ... Played every match but one at No. 3 ... Marquee wins came versus Nicholls State, Northwestern State and SMU ... Teamed with Merker to defeat North Texas’ Cordero/ Valenzuela 8-6 in the first round of the C-USA Tournament. FALL 2014: Finished the fall with a 5-7 record in singles ... Registered first singles win of the fall in Flight No. 1 of Rice Invitational with a straight sets win against Anastasija Trubich of McNeese State ... Posted a Round of 32 victory in B Draw of ITA Southern Regionals versus Nicholls State’s Laia Charles ... Notched three wins in three decisions at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational, two via third set super breaker ... Compiled a 5-6 record in doubles, partnering with Taly Merker and Jazmin Britos ... Won two matches with Starkova in Flight No. 1 of Solinco Houston Open ... Registered a Round of 64 victory in ITA Southern Regionals, an 8-3 decision versus UAB ... Recorded back-to-back 8-2 wins at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational. Spring 2014: In singles, went 14-5 in dual matches including 3-0 in C-USA play ... Played at the No. 4 and No. 5 spots, but the majority of matches came at No. 6 ... Went 1-0 at No. 4, 6-3 at No. 5 and 7-2 at No. 6 ... Started the spring with losses in two of the first three matches, but then reeled off a 10-match winning streak ... Recorded a team-high five clinchers with all coming against regional opponents in New Orleans (2/14), Lamar (2/22), McNeese State (2/23), Tyler JC (3/8) and Northwestern State (3/30) ... Registered a three-set win of 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 against McNeese to finish off the comeback after being down as a team 3-0 ... Had a singles victory in the C-USA Round of 16 against UAB (4/17) ... In doubles, went 8-8 while partnering with Jazmin Britos, Alexandra Starkova and Taly Merker ... Played primarily at No. 3 ... Had clinching doubles points versus New Orleans, Grambling State and Northwestern State ... Fall 2013: Finished the fall season with a 7-4 record in singles ... Reached the consolation finals of the ITA Southern Regionals B Draw before falling to Catherine Ragan (UAB) in three sets ... Advanced to the flight three singles finals of the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite, losing to fellow teammate Jazmin Britos ... Advanced to the flight five singles final of the Ragin’ Cajuns Tennis Classic ... Compiled a 2-3 record in doubles, partnering with Melanie Urvoy and Taly Merker. Spring 2013: Earned Academic All-WAC ... Named second team AllWAC in Singles (No. 6) ... In singles, went 13-3 in duals and 5-0 in WAC play ... Began the dual season at the No. 2 spot before eventually settling in at No. 6 where she compiled a perfect 8-0 record ... Also went 3-1 at No. 4 and 2-0 at No. 5 ... Won her first career match versus Nicholls State (2/24) 6-0, 6-1 ... Sealed first conference team win of the season with 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory against Texas State (3/21) ... Notched one of two points against nationally-ranked San Jose State (3/22) at No. 6 with 6-3,
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16 Guayaquil singles and doubles titles ... Placed fourth at the South American championship (16y) as racquet three on the Ecuadorian team ... Coached by Andres Gomez.
TA LY
MERKER Sr. | 3L
Club: Member of the Anexo Guayaquil Tennis Club. Personal: Daughter of Moshe Merker and Saby Pinoargote ... Has one younger brother Daniel (16) ... Born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on April 15, 1994.
Guayaquil, Ecuador 2015 ITA Doubles B Draw Champion FALL 2015: Finished fall with a 4-4 singles record ... Defeated NSU’s Barbora Kollarova, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 and Southern Miss’ Claudia Castella, 7-5, 7-5 to reach the semifinals of Flight No. 3 at the Warhawk Invitational ... Came back from a set down to upset Kansas State’s Maria Panaite in the opening round of Flight No. 5 at SMU Invitational ... Picked up win in back draw at USTA Clay Court Invitational over NC State’s Taylor Zaytoun ... Partnered with Zoe Chen, Alba Escalona Perny and Manoela Chiacchio to go 9-2 in doubles ... Won back draw of Flight No. 2 with Chen at Warhawk Invitational, besting Louisiana-Lafayette in the finals ... Swept all three matches with Perny to claim Flight No. 3 main draw title at SMU Invitational ... Surrendered only 12 total games in four matches with Chiacchio, never allowing more than four games in a single match, to win the doubles B main draw of the ITA Southern Regionals ... Cruised to an 8-2 victory in the finals over Samford’s Ellie Gerlach and Iva Parapunova. SPRING 2015: Recorded a 3-11 record in singles, playing anywhere from No. 3 to No. 6 ... Victories came against Grambling State, Tyler Junior College and Stephen F. Austin ... Had a key 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 5 over SFA’s Julia Lorca to help defeat the Lumberjacks ... Tied the team high of seven wins in doubles, registering a 7-10 mark while partnering with Manoela Chiacchio, Alexandra Starkova and Marta Sramkova ... Key victories came versus regional foes Nicholls State, Northwestern State and SMU at No. 3 ... Teamed with Chiacchio to defeat North Texas’ Cordero/ Valenzuela 8-6 in the first round of the C-USA Tournament. FALL 2014: Registered a 7-7 singles record ... Won consolation finals of Flight No. 6 at Ragin’ Cajuns Tennis Classic ... Posted straight set victories against South Alabama’s Laura Matuskova and Auburn’s Reka Muller to reach semifinals of ITA Southern Regionals B Draw ... Won all three matches at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational ... Recorded a 5-9 record in doubles, partnering with Haley Ballinger, Manoela Chiacchio and Tarrannum Handa ... Tallied Round of 64 victory at ITA Southern Regionals with 8-3 win versus C-USA foe UAB. Spring 2014: In singles, finished with an 8-2 record in dual matches and 0-1 in C-USA play ... Played every match but one from the No. 6 spot ... Saw her first action of the year at Central Arkansas (2/9) with a 6-2, 6-3 win ... Had the clinching point against Grambling State (2/15) 6-0, 6-0 in her lone match at No. 5 ... Won one of two matches at SMU with a 6-4, 7-6 (1) victory ... In doubles, went 7-4 by teaming up with Jazmin Britos, Manoela Chiacchio and Marta Sramkova ... Spent all matches but one at the No. 3 spot ... Started the season with four straight wins with two clinching doubles points ... Secured the doubles point with an 8-5 win against Northwestern State (3/30). Fall 2013: Compiled a 9-5 singles record in the fall season ... Reeled off four straight wins to reach the finals of the ITA Southern Regionals B Draw before falling to Mary-Angela Martin (South Alabama) ... Advanced to the semifinals of the Big Easy Tennis Classic ... Recorded a 2-2 mark in doubles, partnering with Manoela Chiacchio. Spring 2013: Earned Academic All-WAC ... In singles, finished the season 10-6 in dual matches and 3-3 in WAC play ... Started the year playing at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots before settling in at No. 5 ... Won first career match in season opener against Central Arkansas (1/26) 6-2, 6-2 ... Won three setter at UALR (3/2) with 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory ... Sealed team win against Seattle U (3/23) with 6-2, 6-1 victory ... Provided the clinching point against WAC foe UTSA (3/31) with 6-0, 6-4 win ... Recorded a fivematch winning streak to end the regular season ... In doubles, teamed up with Melanie Urvoy to go 9-6 in duals and 5-2 in WAC play, primarily from the No. 3 position ... Secured doubles point in season opener against Central Arkansas (1/26) with 8-4 win ... Won lone doubles match at No. 1 versus Southern (3/9) 8-5 ... Capped doubles point in 4-3 edging of NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern State (3/14).
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Prior to LA Tech: Received her international baccalaureate diploma from Nuevo Mundo High School ... Was a national championship finalist in singles and doubles champion (18y) for ITF Guayaquil ... Won COSAT
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STARKOVA Sr. | 3L
2015 First Team All-Conference USA (Singles) 2015 Second Team All-Louisiana 2014 First Team All-Conference USA (Singles) 2014 Second Team All-Louisiana 2013 First Team All-WAC (Doubles No. 2) 2013 WAC All-Tournament Team (Singles) 2013 Second Team All-Louisiana FALL 2015: Registered a 7-5 singles record ... Runner-up in Flight No. 1 at Warhawk Invitational with wins over South Alabama, ULM and McNeese State ... Notched 50th career singles win in the fall tourney opener ... Reached finals of Flight No. 1 at SMU Invitational, picking up wins against Abilene Christian’s Erin Walker, 6-3, 6-4 and UT Arlington’s Elizabeth Thoms, 6-4, 6-1 ... Had three-set win in Round of 64 versus Ella Taylor of LSU at ITA Southern Regionals ... Picked up back draw win at USTA Clay Court Invitational before having to retire due to injury ... Partnered with Alba Escalona Perny, Zoe Chen and Jazmin Britos to go 2-7.
Prior to LA Tech: Semi-finalist for Motva Madrid Open and Absolute Spain Championship Doubles in 2012 ... Subchampion at the Spain Championship in 2010 and 2012 and a semi-finalist in 2011 ... Subchampion at the Real Open Leon and Pulpi Villa Tournament ... Best national ranking was No. 34 and best WTA ranking was No. 1065 ... Coached by Feliciano Lopez and Ana Alcazar. Club: Member of Alboran, Race and FTM (Madrid Tennis Federation) ... Part of the CT. Alboran and CT. Race Madrid Team Championships.
T E N N I S
Madrid, Spain
2 0 1 6
ALEXANDRA
in WAC play ... Went 3-2 at the No. 1 position before settling in at No. 2 with a perfect 10-0 record ... Won first career match with 6-2, 6-1 win against Southern (3/9) ... Selected as WAC Player of the Week for the week of March 11-17 after sealing 4-3 match win over NCAA Tournament participant Northwestern State (3/14) with 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 victory ... Clinched WAC win over Idaho (4/7) with 6-4, 6-1 victory ... Had singles victories in both the WAC quarterfinals versus Texas State (4/25) and semifinals versus nationally ranked San Jose State (4/26) ... In doubles, partnered with Joanna Nalborska to go undefeated with a 13-0 record, primarily at the No. 2 spot, the best single-season doubles record in program history ... Decided doubles point with victories against New Mexico State (3/23) and UT Arlington (4/6) with wins of 8-6 and 9-7, respectively ... Clinched doubles point in WAC quarterfinal win with 8-4 victory over Texas State (4/25).
Personal: Full name is Alexandra Starkova ... Nickname is ‘Ale’ ... Daughter of Alexei and Alla Starkova ... Older brother, Anton ... Born March 16, 1994 in Madrid, Spain.
SPRING 2015: Posted an 8-6 mark in singles while playing every match at No. 1 ... The eight victories included a five-match winning streak from Jan. 25 to Feb. 11 ... Opened the season with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 55 Wichita State ... Was a 6-4, 6-4 winner at No. 67 Georgia State, defeating No. 102nd-ranked Niri Rasolomalala ... Came back from being down a set and 5-0 in the second to winning 10-8 in third set super breaker at Northwestern State ... Won in a third set super breaker, 6-4, 6-7, 1-0 (9), at SMU over Hristina Dishkova ... Went 6-8 in doubles playing at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 and partnering with Jazmin Britos and Taly Merker ... Helped clinch doubles point with Britos at Northwestern State with a 6-1 victory ... Had a stretch of five wins in seven matches. FALL 2014: Compiled a 6-3 mark in singles ... Won consolation finals in Flight No. 1 at Solinco Houston Open with victory over SMU’s Yana Erkeeva in super breaker ... Posted two victories in Flight No. 1 of Rice Invitational against SMU’s Vaszilisza Bulgakova and UTA’s Elizabeth Thoms ... Advanced to Main Draw Round of 32 at ITA Southern Regionals with victory versus Mississippi State before falling in a third set tiebreaker against No. 61st-ranked Joana Vale Costa of LSU ... Upended No. 1-ranked NJCAA Joanna Savva in straight sets at Jason’s Deli Intercollegiate Invitational in Houston ... Also posted a 6-3 record in doubles, partnering with Manoela Chiacchio and Jazmin Britos ... Won consolation finals of Flight No. 1 at Solinco Houston Open with Britos ... Had Round of 64 victory, 8-3 versus South Alabama, with Britos at ITA Southern Regionals. Spring 2014: Named first team All-Conference USA in singles and second team All-Louisiana ... Finished the spring season with a 15-6 overall record in singles and 3-1 mark in C-USA play ... The 15 singles wins was a team-high ... Played all but three matches at the No. 1 spot ... Went 13-5 at No. 1 and 2-1 at No. 2 ... Had the second most clinching points on the team with four ... Began the spring with five straight victories ... Clinched the conference win over UAB (3/2) with a 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 victory, the first three-set win of the season ... Sealed another team victory in three sets against Connecticut (3/8) by winning 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 ... Recorded a 6-4, 6-2 win in the C-USA Round of 16 against UAB (4/17) and a 2-6, 7-6, 6-2 win versus Marshall in the quarterfinals ... In doubles, went 6-12 while partnering with Joanna Nalborska, Jazmin Britos, Manoela Chiacchio, Marta Sramkova and Melanie Urvoy ... Played at No. 1 and at No. 2 ... Clinched the doubles point against Florida Atlantic (1/22) with a 6-3 victory. Fall 2013: Battled through injuries to finish the fall season with a 6-4 mark ... Reached the Round of 32 of the ITA Southern Regionals before dropping a hard-fought battle with the No. 2 seeded Mary Anne Daines (Alabama) ... Registered four straight wins to take the Big Easy Tennis Classic ... Recorded a 3-2 record in doubles, partnering with Joanna Nalborska ... Reached the semifinals of the Big Easy Tennis Classic before play was suspended due to weather. Spring 2013: Named first team All-WAC in doubles (No. 2) ... Selected to the WAC All-Tournament Team in Singles ... Named to the All-Louisiana second team ... In singles, recorded a 13-2 record in duals and a 6-2 mark
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T E N N I S 2 0 1 6
JAZMIN
Prior to LA Tech: Has career high junior ITF ranking of 347 and career high WTA ranking of 962 in singles and 642 in doubles ... Won doubles championships at the 2012 Cochabamba in Bolivia and the 2011 Goiania in Brazil ... Quarterfinalist in singles at the 2012 ITF Club del Comercio and 2011 Copa “Ciudad del Illimani” ... Winner at the 2008 Paraguay Junior Open followed by a runner-up effort in 2009 at same event ... Semifinalist of the 2009 International Pascuas Bowl.
Jr. | 2L
Personal: Daughter of Justo and Graciela Britos ... Two siblings, Clara (18) and Danilo (16) ... Born Feb. 19, 1993 in Villarrica, Paraguay.
BRITOS Villarrica, Paraguay 2015 ITA Singles A Back Draw Champion 2015 Third Team All-Conference USA (Singles) 2014 Second Team All-Conference USA (Singles) FALL 2015: Finished with a 9-5 singles record ... Advanced to semifinals of Flight No. 1 of opening fall tournament at Warhawk Invitational, posting wins over Louisiana-Lafayette and South Alabama ... Runner-up in Flight No. 2 at SMU Invitational after defeating Arkansas’s Mia Jurasic, 6-3, 6-4 ... Won ITA Southern Regionals A back draw, besting Alannah Griffin of Auburn, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 in the semis before cruising to a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Allie Sanford from Ole Miss in the finals ... Picked up 50th career singles win at ITA tournament ... Posted a consolation win versus Florida Gulf Coast at USTA Clay Court Invitational ... Partnered with Marta Sramkova for nine matches and Alexandra Starkova for one in doubles, going 5-5 ... Teamed up with Sramkova to place second of Flight No. 1 at Warhawk Invite ... Reached the finals of Flight No. 1 of SMU Invite with victories versus TCU and Rice. SPRING 2015: Recorded a team-best 11-5 mark in singles while playing every match but one at No. 2 ... Went 1-0 in lone match at No. 1 ... Had a six-match winning streak from Feb. 11 to March 25 ... Opened the spring season with a 6-2, 3-6, 1-0 (8) victory at No. 55 Wichita State ... Was a 6-0, 6-3 winner at No. 67 Georgia State, defeating 69th-ranked Linn Timmermann ... Bested No. 65-ranked Sarah Dvorak of No. 19 Texas Tech in a third set super breaker, resulting in a C-USA Player of the Week honor ... Victory at No. 1 came against Tyler Junior College and the No. 1-ranked NJCAA player Joanna Savva, 7-6, 6-3 ... Went 7-8 in doubles, tying for the most victories ... Played at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 while partnering with Alexandra Starkova, Manoela Chiacchio and Taylor Capannolo ... Helped win the doubles point at Northwestern State with a 6-1 victory at No. 2 with Starkova ... Had a stretch of six wins in eight matches. FALL 2014: Posted a 9-6 singles record in the fall, a team high for victories ... Opened fall with wins versus Houston’s Rocio Martin and SMU’s Hristina Dishkova at Solinco Houston Open ... Won four straight matches in Main Draw of ITA Southern Regionals, including a victory over Auburn All-American and 94th-ranked Emily Flickinger, to be only non-SEC player to reach quarterfinals ... Received Conference USA Player of the Month for October ... Registered two wins of 6-2, 6-2 against Tyler JC and Sam Houston State at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational ... Also had a team high in doubles wins, going 7-4 while partnering with Taylor Capannolo, Alexandra Starkova and Manoela Chiacchio ... Had two 8-3 victories to win consolation finals in Flight No. 2 at Solinco Houston Open and in Flight No. 1 at Rice Invitational ... Registered a Round of 64 win over South Alabama at ITA Southern Regionals. Spring 2014: Named second team All-Conference USA in singles ... Finished a team best 14-3 record in dual singles while also going 3-0 in C-USA play ... Spent most of the spring at No. 3 but also saw action at the No. 2 and No. 4 spots ... Opened the spring with an 11-match winning streak, all coming by straight sets except a key 2-6, 6-4, 6-0 win at McNeese State (2/23) ... Clinched the win versus conference foe Middle Tennessee (3/1) with a 7-5, 6-4 mark ... Also sealed the victory at UT Arlington with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-4 win ... Nearly notched victories at 24th-ranked Houston and 47th-ranked Arkansas by being up a set but the matches went unfinished ... Had one of the two points in the C-USA quarterfinals against Marshall (4/18) with a 6-3, 6-1 victory ... Finished 10-8 in dual doubles while partnering with every teammate at least once ... Had a stretch of eight wins in nine matches ... Clinched the doubles point five times.
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Fall 2013: Had a solid start to her Lady Techster career in the fall with a 9-3 singles record ... Won the flight three singles of the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite with an 8-2 victory over fellow teammate Manoela Chiacchio ... Won the consolation finals of the Ragin’ Cajuns Tennis Classic ... Reached the finals of the flight two singles of the Big Easy Tennis Classic before play was suspended due to weather ... Racked up a team-best 8-1 mark in doubles, partnering with Marta Sramkova and Melanie Urvoy ... Won flight one doubles of the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite ... Reached the finals of the flight one doubles of the Big Easy Tennis Classic before play was suspended due to weather.
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SRAMKOVA Jr. | 2L
Personal: Daughter of Boris and Libuga Sramkova ... Has five siblings, Michal (30), Kamila (23), Petra (21), David (17) and Marcel (10) ... Born June 16, 1995 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
2 0 1 6
M A R TA
Finalist of Europe Tennis Center Cup U18 ... In 2010, team placed first at the Slovak Championships ... Winner of the ZLTC Cup U16 where she defeated the currently ranked No. 328 WTA player Katerina Siniakova in the finals ... 2010 semifinalist of the School Lobik Tournament U16 ... In 2009, winner of the Tejt Prievidza Cup U16 and runner-up at International Prievidza U16.
T E N N I S
Bratislava, Slovakia FALL 2015: Finished the fall with a 9-4 singles record ... Runner-up of Flight No. 2 at Warhawk Invitational with straight-set wins over Northwestern State, ULM and Southern Miss ... Reached finals of Flight No. 3 at SMU Invitational with victories against Kansas State’s Iva Bago, 7-6, 6-3 and UT Arlington’s Angeles de los Rios, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 ... Won three-set match in Round of 64 of A main draw at ITA Southern Regionals ... Had impressive run to semifinals of Flight No. 2 at USTA Clay Court Invitational ... Bested Daniela Ruiz Alvarez of Clemson, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 and the No. 8 seed Laura Patterson of top-10 ranked Georgia, 7-5, 3-6, 6-0 before suffering a loss in three sets in the semis ... Partnered with Jazmin Britos and Zoe Chen to go 6-5 in doubles ... Teamed up with Britos to place second of Flight No. 1 at Warhawk Invite ... Reached the finals of Flight No. 1 of SMU Invite with victories versus TCU and Rice ... Notched 8-4 victory with Chen in Round of 32 over FGCU’s Breana Stampfli/Joselyn Treyes in Flight No. 1 of USTA CCI. SPRING 2015: Registered an 8-8 record in singles while playing 14 matches at No. 3 ... Finished the season with a team-best seven-match winning streak which started on March 23 ... Seven of the eight victories came via straight sets ... Played one match at No. 2, winning 6-3, 6-1 against Tyler Junior College’s No. 10 NJCAA player Elizabeth Bagerbaseh ... Took the lone point over then undefeated South Alabama with a 6-1, 6-3 victory ... Took lone point at No. 30 Rice with a 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7) win versus Lindsey Hodge ... Went 5-10 in doubles playing at No. 1 and No. 2 and partnering with Tarrannum Handa for every match but one ... Defeated NSU’s Larina/Ladutska, 7-5 ... Won, 9-8, at No. 2 versus Tyler Junior College. FALL 2014: Compiled a 7-3 record in singles, the highest winning percentage on the team for the fall ... Posted two victories in Flight No. 1 at Rice Invitational ... Advanced to Round of 64 Main Draw at ITA Southern Regionals with 6-1, 6-1 win over Tulane’s Kyla Klier ... Reeled off four straight victories at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational in Houston, including a straight sets win versus Rice’s Solomiya Zinko ... Recorded a 4-4 mark in doubles, partnering with Taylor Capannolo and Tarrannum Handa ... Won all three matches at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational with Handa. Spring 2014: Finished the spring dual season with an 8-10 singles record and a 2-2 record in C-USA play ... Played at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 before settling in at the No. 4 spot at the end of the season ... Went 1-0 at No. 1, 1-3 at No. 2, 4-4 at No. 3 and 2-3 at No. 4 ... Notched her first career spring win against conference foe Florida Atlantic (1/25) 6-0, 6-1 ... Won her lone match at No. 1 versus Grambling State (2/15) 6-0, 6-0 ... Grabbed her first three-set win in a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory versus Middle Tennessee (3/1) ... Had the clinching point against Jackson State (3/23) with a 6-1, 6-0 win ... Notched one of the points in the C-USA Round of 16 against UAB with a 6-0, 6-2 victory ... In doubles, finished with a 9-7 record while partnering with Melanie Urvoy, Taly Merker, Alexandra Starkova and Jazmin Britos ... Spent time at No. 1 and No. 2, but primarily at the No. 3 spot ... Started the spring with six straight wins ... Clinched the doubles point in three matches. Fall 2013: Overcome an early injury to finish 6-2 in singles in the fall season ... Made it to the Round of 32 of the Main Draw ITA Southern Regionals before dropping a heartbreaking three-setter to No. 4 seed Klara Vyskocilova (Tulane) ... Took home the flight two singles title of the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite ... Won the consolation finals of the Ragin’ Cajuns Tennis Classic ... Tallied a 4-1 mark in doubles, partnering with Jazmin Britos ... Won flight one doubles of the NSU Lady Demon Fall Invite. Prior to LA Tech: Career high junior ITF ranking of 462 ... Ranked in the top three in every age category in Slovakia since 2009 ... Finalist in singles and doubles in open division of 2013 Regional Indoor Championships ... Singles finalist and doubles semifinalist in open division at 2013 Slovak Republic Indoor Championships ... Playing in U18 category in 2012, was a singles semifinalist in Slovak Republic Indoor Championships and Slovak Championships ... In doubles, was a runner-up in the Slovak Championships ... In 2011, participated in the Winter Cup U16 to go along with being a semifinalist at the ITF Zilina Junior Open U18 ...
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T E N N I S 2 0 1 6
HALEY
BALLINGER So. | 1L Monroe, La. FALL 2015: Went 2-5 in singles ... Both victories came in the first fall tourney of the season at the Warhawk Invitational ... Lost opening round match in three sets in Flight No. 3, but won the back draw with straightset victories over Northwestern State’s Barbora Kollarova and ULL’s Melissa Burckhartt ... Partnered with Alba Escalona Perny to go 0-2 in doubles, both losses coming at the ITA Southern Regionals. SPRING 2015: Went 2-4 in singles while playing all matches at No. 6 ... Two victories came in straight sets over ASA Junior College and Tyler Junior College with both teams ranked one and two in NJCAA ... Partnered with Taylor Capannolo for one doubles match, a 6-2 loss at No. 19 Texas Tech. FALL 2014: Finished fall with 7-9 singles record ... Won first career match as a Lady Techster at Solinco Houston Open, the first tournament of the fall, at Flight No. 4 ... Picked up a 6-1, 6-1 win over McNeese State’s Andrea Nenu at Flight No. 2 of Rice Invitational ... Champion of Flight No. 6 at Ragin’ Cajuns Tennis Classic with wins versus Southeastern Louisiana, McNeese State and Nicholls State ... Picked up two victories against Lamar and Prairie View A&M at Jason’s Deli Collegiate Invitational ... Partnered with Taly Merker and Taylor Capannolo to go 3-2 in doubles. Prior to LA Tech: Lettered five years at Ouachita Christian School ... Coached by Greg Hearn of the Shreveport-Bossier Tennis Academy ... Ranked No. 2 in G18’s and in G16’s in state of Louisiana by USTA ... Three-star prospect ranked as high as 50th in G18’s in the Southern Section and 19th by tennisrecruiting.net out of the Gulf States ... Named All-Region from 2010-14 and All-State from 2011-14 ... State runner-up in singles and doubles ... Quarterfinalist of College ITA Tournaments at the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas-Arlington ... Placed second in three STA level 3 tournaments in 2014 ... Endorsed by Louisiana for the Southern Closed Tournament from 2011-14 ... Invited to participate in the Southern Cup, representing Team Louisiana in 2014 ... Won 6-8 matches for Team Louisiana at event ... Selected to play National Hard Court Championship in G18’s twice. Personal: Full name is Haley Nicole Ballinger ... Daughter of Michael and Teresa Ballinger ... One brother, Parker ... Grandfather, Tony Montalbano, lettered in track and football at McNeese State ... Chose Louisiana Tech over Louisiana-Lafayette, Southern Miss and Northwestern State ... Born Feb. 13, 1996 in Monroe, La.
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2 0 1 6
ALBA
ESCALONA PERNY So. | TR
T E N N I S
Madrid, Spain FALL 2015: Finished fall with a 7-7 singles record ... Reached the semifinals of Flight No. 3 with victories over Louisiana-Lafayette and Nicholls State at the Warhawk Invitational ... After dropping opening match in B draw of the ITA Southern Regionals, defeated Ole Miss’ Allie Robbins, 6-1, 6-1 and Tulane’s Sofia Kurtz, 7-5, 6-2 to reach the consolation finals ... Stormed back to win 10-6 in third set super breaker against ULM’s Patricia Villar to claim back draw title ... Partnered with four Lady Techsters to go 3-5 in doubles ... Won all three matches with Taly Merker to win Flight No. 3 title at SMU Invitational. Tulsa: Member of Golden Hurricane squad which captured the 2015 American Athletic Conference championship ... Team finished season ranked No. 51 in the country by ITA ... Posted a 5-7 singles record in the fall with victories against Kansas State, Nebraska and North Carolina State ... Registered two dual match wins in the spring, surrendering only one game each at the No. 6 spot. Personal: Full name is Alba Escalona Perny ... Born April 20, 1995 in Madrid, Spain.
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LATechTennis
T E N N I S 2 0 1 6
ZOE
CHEN Fr. | HS Taichung, Taiwan 2015 ITA Singles B Draw Champion FALL 2015: Finished first fall season with an 11-3 singles record ... Opened LA Tech career by winning four matches, including a 6-4, 6-4 victory over McNeese State’s Anastasija Trubich in the finals, to claim the title of Flight No. 3 at the Warhawk Invitational ... Defeated Arkansas’ Nicole Breaux in straight sets in back draw of Flight No. 4 of SMU Invitational ... Won five straight matches with straight-set victories over Ole Miss, Louisiana-Lafayette, Samford and Mississippi State to reach the finals of the singles B main draw at the ITA Southern Regionals, besting Southern Miss’ Alex Kitchen, 7-6, 6-2 to claim second title of the fall ... Picked up back draw win versus Stetson’s Maja Salibasic, 7-6, 6-3 in Flight No. 2 at USTA Clay Court Invitational ... Partnered with Taly Merker, Alexandra Starkova and Marta Sramkova to go 5-6 in doubles ... Won back draw with Merker at Warhawk Invitational ... Notched 8-4 victory with Sramkova in Round of 32 over FGCU’s Breana Stampfli/Joselyn Treyes in Flight No. 1 of USTA CCI. Prior to LA Tech: Reached a high ITF ranking of 410th ... Won the bronze medal at 2015 Taiwan national high school championships ... Semifinalist at 2014 GreenMax Cup International Junior championships ... Winner of 2013 Nan Ying Cup International Junior championships. Personal: Full name is Yu-Chia Chen ... Nickname is Zoe ... Has one sibling, Yu Ton ... Born May 16, 1997.
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2 0 1 6
MERYL
CULOT Fr. | HS
T E N N I S
Brussels, Belgium FALL 2015: Finished first fall season with 3-6 mark in singles ... Picked up first victory as a Lady Techster with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Abilene Christian’s Leah Davis in Flight No. 6 of the SMU Invitational ... Notched a second win in three sets at event for third place ... Defeated Stetson’s Brittany Hill, 6-3, 6-1, in back draw of Flight No. 3 at USTA Clay Court Invitational ... Partnered with Manoela Chiacchio for six doubles matches and Zoe Chen for one, going 4-3 ... Runner-up with Chiacchio in Flight No. 2 at Warhawk Invitational, picking up victories against Nicholls State and New Orleans ... Reached main draw finals with Chiacchio in Flight No. 3 at SMU Invitational, including a 7-5 win over Arkansas’s Peyton Jenning/ Sheweata Prakbar. Prior to LA Tech: Ranked as high as No. 99 in Belgium (all players) ... Played for Club Set Wahis which competed in junior interclub regional tournaments ... Finalist in Regional I in 2014 and 2013 ... Winner of Regional II in 2012. Personal: Daughter of Pierre and Catherine Culot ... Has older brother, Simon ... Born June 6, 1997 in Brussels, Belgium.
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2 0 1 6
T E N N I S
2016 OPPONENTS 01.23.16 • 12:00 Pm at
N I C H O L L S S TAT E
COLONELS MATCH 1 NICHOLLS STATE
Location: Thibodaux, La. Nickname: Colonels School Colors: Red and Gray Conference: Southland Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 20-5 2015 Conference Record: 10-1 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Jamie Bustos Email: jamie.bustos@nicholls.edu Website: GeauxColonels.com
02.05.16 • 1:00 Pm
vs.
N O R T H W E S T E R N S TAT E
DEMONS
MATCH 4 NORTHWESTERN STATE
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Location: Natchitoches, La. Nickname: Demons School Colors: Purple and White Conference: Southland Facility: Jack Fisher Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 16-9 2015 Conference Record: 9-2 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Doug Ireland Email: ireland@nsula.edu Website: NSUDemons.com
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01.30.16 • 9:30 Am
vs.
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
PANTHERS MATCH 2 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M
Location: Prairie View, Texas Nickname: Panthers School Colors: Purple and Gold Conference: SWAC Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 4-13 2015 Conference Record: 2-4 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Alan Wiederhold Email: wawiederhold@pvamu.edu Website: PVPanthers.com
02.09.16 • 2:00 PM at
M c N E E S E S TAT E
COWGIRLS MATCH 5 McNEESE STATE
Location: Lake Charles, La. Nickname: Cowgirls School Colors: Royal Blue and Gold Conference: Southland Facility: Nancy Hank Tennis Center 2015 Spring Record: 13-8 2015 Conference Record: 8-3 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Hunter Bower Email: hbower@mcneese.edu Website: McNeeseSports.com
01.30.16 • 1:00 Pm at
SAM HOUSTON
B E A R K AT S MATCH 3 SAM HOUSTON
Location: Huntsville, Texas Nickname: Bearkats School Colors: Orange and White Conference: Southland Facility: McAdams Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 3-16 2015 Conference Record: 1-10 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Paul Ridings Email: ridings@shsu.edu Website: GoBearkats.com
02.13.16 • 12:00 Pm at
NORTH TEXAS
MEAN GREEN MATCH 6 NORTH TEXAS
Location: Denton, Texas Nickname: Mean Green School Colors: Green and White Conference: C-USA Facility: Waranch Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 9-14 2015 Conference Record: 1-1 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: T.C. Greene Email: Thomas.Greene@unt.edu Website: MeanGreenSports.com
#WeAreLATech
2 0 1 6
vs.
A L C O R N S TAT E
B R AV E S
MATCH 7 Alcorn State
Location: Lorman, Miss. Nickname: Braves School Colors: Purple and Gold Conference: SWAC Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 10-11 2015 Conference Record: 6-1 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Herman Shelton Email: hshelton@alcorn.edu Website: AlcornSports.com
02.14.16 • 6:00 Pm vs.
G R A M B L I N G S TAT E
TIGERS
MATCH 8 GRAMBLING STATE
Location: Grambling, La. Nickname: Tigers School Colors: Black and Gold Conference: SWAC Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: N/A 2015 Conference Record: N/A 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: N/A Email: N/A Website: GSUTigers.com
02.17.16 • 1:00 Pm at
S T E P H E N F. A U S T I N
LUMBERJACKS MATCH 9 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
Location: Nacogdoches, Texas Nickname: Lumberjacks School Colors: Purple and White Conference: Southland Facility: Schlief Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 16-7 2015 Conference Record: 10-1 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Charlie Hurley Email: hurleycp@sfasu.edu Website: SFAJacks.com
02.19.16 • 11:00 Am
02.20.16 • 12:00 Pm
02.23.16 • 10:30 AM
B O B C AT S
CARDINALS
RAGIN’ CAJUNS
vs.
T E X A S S TAT E
MATCH 10 TEXAS STATE
Location: San Marcos, Texas Nickname: Bobcats School Colors: Maroon and Metallic Gold Conference: Sun Belt Facility: Bobcat Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 9-7 2015 Conference Record: 3-3 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Rick Poulter Email: rpoulter@txstate.edu Website: TXStateBobcats.com
@LATechTEN
vs.
MATCH 11 LAMAR
LAMAR
Location: Beaumont, Texas Nickname: Cardinals School Colors: Red and White Conference: Southland Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 9-12 2015 Conference Record: 4-8 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: James Dixon Email: james.dixon@lamar.edu Website: LamarCardinals.com
T E N N I S
02.14.16 • 3:00 Pm
vs.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
MATCH 12 LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE
Location: Lafayette, La. Nickname: Ragin’ Cajuns School Colors: Vermillion and White Conference: Sun Belt Facility: Cajun Courts 2015 Spring Record: 4-19 2015 Conference Record: 1-5 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Kim Lakner Email: lakner@louisiana.edu Website: RaginCajuns.com
LATechTennis
25
T E N N I S 2 0 1 6
03.05.16 • 11:00 Am at
SOUTHERN MISS
GOLDEN EAGLES MATCH 13 SOUTHERN MISS
Location: Hattiesburg, Miss. Nickname: Golden Eagles School Colors: Black and Gold Conference: C-USA Facility: Southern Miss Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 9-12 2015 Conference Record: 0-6 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Shirley Hill Email: shirley.jones-hill@usm.edu Website: SouthernMiss.com
03.20.16 • 9:00 Am at
K E N N E S AW S TAT E
OWLS
MATCH 16 KENNESAW STATE
26
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. Nickname: Owls School Colors: Black and Gold Conference: Atlantic Sun Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 3-14 2015 Conference Record: 1-5 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Al Barba Email: abarba@kennesaw.edu Website: KSUOwls.com
LATechSports.com
03.08.16 • 1:00 Pm at
SOUTH ALABAMA
JAGUARS
MATCH 14 SOUTH ALABAMA
Location: Mobile, Ala. Nickname: Jaguars School Colors: Blue, Red and White Conference: Sun Belt Facility: Lubel Memorial Tennis Courts 2015 Spring Record: 21-3 2015 Conference Record: 7-0 2015 National Ranking: 74th Tennis Contact: Matt Horne Email: mhorne@southalabama.edu Website: USAJaguars.com
03.26.16 • 1:00 PM at
SMU
M U S TA N G S MATCH 17 SMU
Location: Dallas, Texas Nickname: Mustangs School Colors: Red and Blue Conference: American Athletic Facility: Northwood Country Club 2015 Spring Record: 16-7 2015 Conference Record: 3-3 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Brett Tudela Email: btudela@smu.edu Website: SMUMustangs.com
03.19.16 • 11:00 AM at
G E O R G I A S TAT E
PA N T H E R S MATCH 15 GEORGIA STATE
Location: Atlanta, Ga. Nickname: Panthers School Colors: Blue and White Conference: Sun Belt Facility: Piedmont Park 2015 Spring Record: 13-9 2015 Conference Record: 3-1 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Allison George Email: ageorge@gsu.edu Website: GeorgiaStateSports.com
03.29.16 • 5:30 Pm at
TCU
HORN FROGS MATCH 18 TCU
Location: Fort Worth, Texas Nickname: Horn Frogs School Colors: Purple and White Conference: Big 12 Facility: Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center 2015 Spring Record: 19-9 2015 Conference Record: 7-2 2015 National Ranking: 17th Tennis Contact: Abby Norman Email: a.norman@tcu.edu Website: GoFrogs.com
#WeAreLATech
2 0 1 6
04.05.16 • 2:00 PM
04.09.16 • 1:00 Pm
APACHE
PRIVATEERS
TIGERS
vs.
TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE
MATCH 19 TYLER JUNIOR COLLEGE
Location: Tyler, Texas Nickname: Apache School Colors: Black and Gold Conference: NJCAA Facility: Murphy Tennis Center 2015 Spring Record: 13-7 2015 Conference Record: 1-0 2015 National Ranking: 2nd (NJCAA) Tennis Contact: N/A Email: N/A Website: ApacheAthletics.com
04.15.16 • 3:00 Pm
vs.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS
SUGAR BEARS
MATCH 22 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Location: Conway, Ark. Nickname: Sugar Bears School Colors: Purple and Gray Conference: Southland Facility: N/A 2015 Spring Record: 9-8 2015 Conference Record: 4-6 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Charlie Skinner Email: cskinner@uca.edu Website: UCASports.com
@LATechTEN
vs.
NEW ORLEANS
MATCH 20 NEW ORLEANS
Location: New Orleans, La. Nickname: Privateers School Colors: Royal Blue, Silver and Navy Conference: Southland Facility: University Tennis Center 2015 Spring Record: 15-11 2015 Conference Record: 4-7 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: Emmanuel Pepis Email: epepis@uno.edu Website: UNOPrivateers.com
vs.
J A C K S O N S TAT E
T E N N I S
04.05.16 • 10:00 AM
MATCH 21 JACKSON STATE
Location: Jackson, Miss. Nickname: Tigers School Colors: Blue and White Conference: SWAC Facility: Jackson State Tennis Complex 2015 Spring Record: 6-18 2015 Conference Record: 5-3 2015 National Ranking: N/A Tennis Contact: E. Jenae Jones Email: emily.j.jones@jsums.edu Website: JSUTigers.com
04.17.16 • 11:00 Am at
RICE
OWLS MATCH 23 RICE
Location: Houston, Texas Nickname: Owls School Colors: Blue and Gray Conference: C-USA Facility: George R. Brown Tennis Center 2015 Spring Record: 17-9 2015 Conference Record: 3-0 2015 National Ranking: 28th Tennis Contact: Chuck Pool Email: cpool@rice.edu Website: RiceOwls.com
27 LATechTennis
T E N N I S 2 0 1 6
2015 STATISTICS LA Tech Tennis Louisiana Tech 2015 Season Statistics
Overall record: 7-11 • Conference: 0-2 • Region: 2-1 • Home: 5-2 • Away: 1-6 • Neutral: 1-3 vs National ranked: 0-5 • vs Regional ranked: 0-0 SINGLES Haley Ballinger Jazmin Britos Taylor Capannolo Manoela Chiacchio Tarrannum Handa Taly Merker Marta Sramkova Alexandra Starkova Totals Percentage
Overall 9-13 20-11 2-11 9-14 10-15 10-18 15-11 14-9 89-102 .466
DOUBLES TEAMS Manoela Chiacchio/Alexandra Starkova Haley Ballinger/Taly Merker Jazmin Britos/Taylor Capannolo Jazmin Britos/Alexandra Starkova Taylor Capannolo/Marta Sramkova Manoela Chiacchio/Taly Merker Tarrannum Handa/Taly Merker Haley Ballinger/Taylor Capannolo Tarrannum Handa/Marta Sramkova Jazmin Britos/Manoela Chiacchio Taly Merker/Alexandra Starkova Taly Merker/Marta Sramkova Totals Percentage
% %
%
* *
Date 9/19/2014 9/26/2014 10/3/2015 10/10/2014 10/31/2014 1/16/2015 1/17/2015 1/25/2015 1/30/2015 Jan 31, 2015 2/6/2015 2/11/2015 Mar 07, 2015 3/17/2015 3/23/2015 3/23/2015 3/25/2015 3/28/2015 3/29/2015 4/4/2015 4/8/2015 4/11/2015 Apr 16, 2015
at at vs at at at at
vs vs at vs
Dual 2-4 11-5 1-3 4-7 5-10 3-11 8-8 8-6 42-54 .438
Tour 7-9 9-6 1-8 5-7 5-5 7-7 7-3 6-3 47-48 .495
Conf 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-2 0-2 1-0 0-1 1-8 .111
Overall 2-1 1-2 6-3 8-7 1-3 8-11 1-2 2-2 8-10 0-2 2-3 0-1 39-47 .453
Opponent Solinco Houston Open Rice Invitational Ragin' Cajuns Tennis Classic ITA Southern Regionals Jason's Deli Collegiate Invitational #55 Wichita State #19 Oklahoma State NICHOLLS Florida Gulf Coast #67 Georgia State Northwestern State SMU #19 Texas Tech ASA JUNIOR COLLEGE ALCORN STATE GRAMBLING STATE JACKSON STATE SOUTH ALABAMA STEPHEN F. AUSTIN Middle Tennessee Tyler Junior College #30 Rice North Texas
1 --1-0 ----------8-6 9-6 .600
Dual 0-0 0-0 3-1 4-5 0-0 5-6 0-0 0-1 5-9 0-2 2-3 0-1 19-28 .404
2 --10-5 --------1-0 --11-5 .688
Tour 2-1 1-2 3-2 4-2 1-3 3-5 1-2 2-1 3-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 20-19 .513
3 --------0-2 1-0 7-6 --8-8 .500
vs
ranked
4 5 6 Nat'l Reg'l ----2-4 0-0 0-0 ------3-2 2-1 0-1 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 --3-5 1-2 0-0 0-0 5-8 ----0-0 0-0 0-1 1-5 1-5 0-0 0-0 0-2 ----0-2 0-1 ------1-2 0-2 5-12 5-11 4-12 4-6 2-4 .294 .312 .250 .400 .333
Conf 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-4 .000
1 ------1-3 --------4-7 ------5-10 .333
Score Overall Conf 8 a.m. (Houston, Texas) 8 a.m. (Houston, Texas) 8 a.m. (Lafayette, La.) 8 a.m. (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 8 a.m. (Houston, Texas) L 2-5 0-1 0-0 L 0-7 0-2 0-0 L 1-6 0-3 0-0 L 3-4 0-4 0-0 L 2-5 0-5 0-0 W 5-2 1-5 0-0 L 2-5 1-6 0-0 L 1-6 1-7 0-0 W 4-3 2-7 0-0 W 5-0 3-7 0-0 W 7-0 4-7 0-0 W 4-0 5-7 0-0 L 1-6 5-8 0-0 W 4-2 6-8 0-0 L 0-4 6-9 0-1 W 6-1 7-9 0-1 L 1-6 7-10 0-2 L 0-4 7-11 0-2
2 ------3-2 --------1-2 0-1 2-2 0-1 6-8 .429
vs
Strk W1 L1 L1 L2 L4 L2 W7 L3
ranked
3 Nat'l Reg'l --0-0 0-0 --0-0 0-0 3-1 0-0 0-0 --0-0 0-0 --0-0 0-0 5-6 0-0 0-0 --0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 --0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 --0-0 0-0 8-10 0-1 0-0 .444 .000 .000
Last 10 3-5 6-2 1-7 4-6 4-5 3-7 7-1 2-5
Strk W1 W1 L1 L1 L3 W1 W1 L2 L2 L2 L1 L1
Last 10 2-1 1-2 6-3 5-5 1-3 5-5 1-2 2-2 4-6 0-2 2-3 0-1
Nation Region
28 LATechSports.com
#WeAreLATech
2015 MATCH-BY-MATCH Jan. 16, 2015 at Wichita, Kan. (Wichita Country Club)
Doubles 1. Pedrazzi/Kovalova (WSU) def. Britos/Starkova (TECH) 6-2 2. Porubin/Schiller (WSU) vs. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) 5-2, unfinished 3. Trifunovic/Pump (WSU) def. Merker/Chiacchio (TECH) 6-3
#19 Oklahoma State 7, Louisiana Tech 0 Jan. 17, 2015 at Stillwater, Okla. (Greenwood Tennis Center)
Doubles 1. Lushkova/Laurente (OSU) vs. Britos/Starkova (TECH) 5-2, unfinished 2. Babic/Adamovic (OSU) def. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) 6-0 3. Tur Mari/Guttormsen (OSU) def. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) 6-1 Singles 1. Laurente (OSU) def. Starkova (TECH) 7-6, 7-5 2. #53 Adamovic (OSU) def. Britos (TECH) 6-1, 6-0 3. Babic (OSU) def. Handa (TECH) 6-1, 6-3 4. Guttormsen (OSU) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-0, 6-4 5. Tur Mari (OSU) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 6-0, 6-0 6. Alvarez (OSU) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-4
Nicholls State 6, Louisiana Tech 1 Jan. 25, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Barnett/Pietersz (NICH) def. Starkova/Britos (TECH) 6-3 2. Jordan/Kranendonk (NICH) def. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) 6-4 3. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) def. Aubert/Skopac (NICH) 6-3 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Aubert (NICH) 6-4, 6-2 2. Barnett (NICH) def. Britos (TECH) 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) 3. Skopac (NICH) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-2, 6-0 4. Jordan (NICH) def. Handa (TECH) 6-4, 6-2 5. Pietersz (NICH) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 6-2, 6-4 6. Nakonechna (NICH) def. Merker (TECH) 7-6 (7-3), 2-2, retired
Florida Gulf Coast 4, Louisiana Tech 3 Jan. 30, 2015 at Atlanta, Ga. (Atlanta Athletic Club)
Doubles 1. Means/Means (FGCU) def. Starkova/Britos (TECH) 6-3 2. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) vs. Stampfli/Sterkel (FGCU) 3-5, unfinished 3. Landert/Curtis (FGCU) def. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) 6-1 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Means (FGCU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 2. Britos (TECH) def. Stampfli (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2 3. Means (FGCU) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 4. Sterkel (FGCU) def. Handa (TECH) 6-4, 6-3 5. Chiacchio (TECH) def. Munoz Giron (FGCU) 6-1, 6-3 6. Curtis (FGCU) def. Merker (TECH) 6-4, 6-3
#67 Georgia State 5, Louisiana Tech 2 Jan. 31, 2015 at Atlanta, Ga. (Piedmont Park)
Doubles 1. #40 Timmermann/Tarani (GSU) def. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) 7-6 2. Rasolomalala/Rehse (GSU) def. Britos/Chiacchio (TECH) 6-4 3. Grgan/Tere-Apisah (GSU) def. Merker/Starkova (TECH) 6-2 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. #102 Rasolomalala (GSU) 6-4, 6-4 2. Britos (TECH) def. #69 Timmermann (GSU) 6-0, 6-3 3. Grgan (GSU) def. Handa (TECH) 6-3, 6-2 4. Rehse (GSU) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-2, 6-1 5. Roudami (GSU) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 6-1, 6-3 6. Tere-Apisah (GSU) def. Merker (TECH) 6-3, 6-7, 10-6
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Doubles 1. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) def. Larina/Ladutska (NWLA) 7-5 2. Starkova/Britos (TECH) def. Krutova/Kollarova (NWLA) 6-1 3. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) def. Ivanova/Kerr (NWLA) 6-2 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Larina (NWLA) 2-6, 7-6, 10-8 2. Krutova (NWLA) def. Britos (TECH) 6-4, 6-1 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Ladutska (NWLA) 7-5, 6-1 4. Handa (TECH) def. Kollarova (NWLA) 6-2, 6-4 5. Chiacchio (TECH) def. Kerr (NWLA) 6-2, 6-0 6. Ivanova (NWLA) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-2
SMU 5, Louisiana Tech 2
Feb. 11, 2015 at Dallas, Texas (SMU Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Bulgakova/Sharapova (SMU) def. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) 6-2 2. Dishkova/Verner (SMU) def. Britos/Starkova (TECH) 6-3 3. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) def. Anderson/Wright (SMU) 6-4
T E N N I S
Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Pedrazzi (WSU) 7-5, 6-2 2. Britos (TECH) def. Porubin (WSU) 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 3. Stevens (WSU) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-1, 6-2 4. Kovalova (WSU) def. Handa (TECH) 6-3, 6-3 5. Guidetti (WSU) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) 6. Trifunovic (WSU) def. Merker (TECH) 6-2, 6-2
Feb. 6, 2015 at Natchitoches, La. (Jack Fisher Tennis Complex)
2 0 1 6
#55 Wichita State 5, Louisiana Tech 2
Louisiana Tech 5, Northwestern State 2
Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Dishkova (SMU) 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 1-0 (11-9) 2. Britos (TECH) def. Anderson (SMU) 4-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6) 3. Sharapova (SMU) def. Sramkova (TECH) 6-4, 6-1 4. Bulgakova (SMU) def. Handa (TECH) 6-3, 6-1 5. Wright (SMU) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 3-6, 7-5, 1-0 (10-5) 6. Verner (SMU) def. Ballinger (TECH) 6-0, 6-2
#19 Texas Tech 6, Louisiana Tech 1 March 7, 2015 at Lubbock, Texas (McLeod Tennis Center) Doubles 1. Kilgo/Talaba (TT) vs. Starkova/Britos (TECH) 5-1, unfinished 2. Kiro/Federici (TT) def. Sramkova/Merker (TECH) 6-0 3. Dvorak/Jackson (TT) def. Ballinger/Capannolo (TECH) 6-2 Singles 1. Kilgo (TT) def. Starkova (TECH) 6-2, 6-4 2. Britos (TECH) def. #65 Dvorak (TT) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 3. #50 Kiro (TT) def. Sramkova (TECH) 4-6, 6-4, 1-0 4. Talaba (TT) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-0 5. Federici (TT) def. Capannolo (TECH) 6-0, 6-1 6. Jackson (TT) def. Ballinger (TECH) 6-2, 6-4
Louisiana Tech 4, ASA Junior College 3 March 17, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Olivares/Bianco (ASA) def. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) 6-2 2. Merker/Starkova (TECH) def. Smith/Du (ASA) 7-5 3. Britos/Capannolo (TECH) def. Pratt/Vanko (ASA) 7-6 (7-5) Singles 1. Olivares (ASA) def. Starkova (TECH) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 2. Britos (TECH) def. Bianco (ASA) 6-2, 6-3 3. Smith (ASA) def. Sramkova (TECH) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 4. Handa (TECH) def. Du (ASA) 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 5. Pratt (ASA) def. Merker (TECH) 6-1, 6-1 6. Ballinger (TECH) def. Vanko (ASA) 6-3, 6-1
Louisiana Tech 5, Alcorn State 0
March 23, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) def. Ryan-Bovey/Potapova (ASU) 6-2 2. Kelic/Boberic (ASU) def. Starkova/Merker (TECH) 7-6 (7-4) 3. Capannolo/Britos (TECH) def. Punj/Normand (ASU) 6-0 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Kelic (ASU) 7-5, 6-4 2. Britos (TECH) def. Ryan-Bovey (ASU) 6-3, 6-2 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Boberic (ASU) 6-0, 6-0 4. Handa (TECH) def. Potapova (ASU) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 5. Capannolo (TECH) vs. Normand (ASU) unfinished 6. Ballinger (TECH) vs. Punj (ASU) unfinished
LATechTennis
29
Louisiana Tech 7, Grambling State 0
Louisiana Tech 6, Tyler Junior College 1
Doubles 1. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) def. Southern/Chiridza (GRAM) 6-0 2. Starkova/Merker (TECH) def. Jones/Nankya (GRAM) 6-0 3. Britos/Capannolo (TECH) def. Thomas/Ayim (GRAM) 6-0
Doubles 1. Starkova/Britos (TECH) def. Murdock/Savva (TJC) 8-4 2. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) def. Bagerbaseh/Delgado (TJC) 9-8 (7-3) 3. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) def. Garrett/Blair (TJC) 8-2
Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) def. Southern (GRAM) 6-1, 6-0 2. Britos (TECH) def. Jones (GRAM) 6-0, 6-1 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Chiridza (GRAM) 6-1, 6-0 4. Handa (TECH) def. Nankya (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0 5. Capannolo (TECH) def. Thomas (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0 6. Merker (TECH) def. Ayim (GRAM) 6-0, 6-0
Singles 1. Britos (TECH) def. Savva (TJC) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 2. Sramkova (TECH) def. Bagerbaseh (TJC) 6-3, 6-1 3. Merker (TECH) def. Murdock (TJC) 6-2, 6-1 4. Delgado (TJC) def. Capannolo (TECH) 1-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-5) 5. Chiacchio (TECH) def. Garrett (TJC) 6-1, 6-1 6. Ballinger (TECH) def. Blair (TJC) 6-1, 6-2
Louisiana Tech 4, Jackson State 0
#30 Rice 6, Louisiana Tech 1
Doubles 1. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) def. Zvyahintse/Phakamad (JSU) 7-6 (7-5) 2. Starkova/Britos (TECH) def. Ono/Zuishliuk (JSU) 6-0 3. Butorina/Angermann (JSU) def. Merker/Chiacchio (TECH) 6-4
Doubles 1. Beazant/Zimmermann (RICE) def. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) 8-0 2. Hodge/Ho (RICE) vs. Starkova/Britos (TECH) 6-1, unfinished 3. Ip/Nguyen (RICE) def. Merker/Chiacchio (TECH) 8-1
Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) vs. Zvyahintse (JSU) unfinished 2. Britos (TECH) def. Zuishliuk (JSU) 6-0, 6-0 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Phakamad (JSU) 6-0, 6-2 4. Handa (TECH) def. Butorina (JSU) 6-1, 6-1 5. Capannolo (TECH) vs. Ono (JSU) unfinished 6. Ballinger (TECH) vs. Adewumi (JSU) unfinished
Singles 1. #25 Beazant (RICE) def. Starkova (TECH) 6-3, 6-3 2. Zimmermann (RICE) def. Britos (TECH) 6-3, 7-5 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Hodge (RICE) 2-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) 4. Durkin (RICE) def. Handa (TECH) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 5. Zinko (RICE) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-2 6. Ho (RICE) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 7-5, 6-2
South Alabama 6, Louisiana Tech 1
North Texas 4, Louisiana Tech 0 C-USA Tournament -- First Round
2 0 1 6
T E N N I S
March 23, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex)
March 25, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex)
March 28, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Valkova/Newton (USA) def. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) 8-3 2. Starkova/Merker (TECH) vs. Meszarosova/Martin (USA) 5-5, unfinished 3. Mitta/Sanchez (USA) def. Capannolo/Britos (TECH) 8-2 Singles 1. Valkova (USA) def. Starkova (TECH) 6-3, 6-3 2. Mitta (USA) def. Britos (TECH) 6-0, 6-4 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Newton (USA) 6-1, 6-3 4. Meszarosova USA) def. Handa (TECH) 6-3, 6-0 5. Matuskova (USA) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-4 6. Martin (USA) def. Ballinger (TECH) 6-1, 6-3
Louisiana Tech 4, Stephen F. Austin 2
April 8, 2015 at Shreveport, La. (Southern Hills Tennis Center)
April 11, 2015 at Houston, Texas (George R. Brown Tennis Center)
April 16, 2015 at Houston, Texas (Chancellors)
Doubles 1. Bardabush/Sprinkmeye (NT) def. Handa/Sramkova (TECH) 8-5 2. Shestakov/Thoma (NT) def. Starkova/Britos (TECH) 8-3 3. Merker/Chiacchio (TECH) def. Cordero/Valenzuela (NT) 8-6 Singles 1. Bardabush (NT) vs. Starkova (TECH) 6-4, 4-6, 4-2, unfinished 2. Shestakov (NT) vs. Britos (TECH) 6-3, 4-6, 3-0, unfinished 3. Thoma (NT) vs. Sramkova (TECH) 2-6, 6-4, 0-3, unfinished 4. Valenzuela (NT) def. Handa (TECH) 6-2, 6-4 5. Sprinkmeye (NT) def. Merker (TECH) 6-0, 6-1 6. Cordero (NT) def. Chiacchio (TECH) 6-2, 6-1
March 29, 2015 at Ruston, La. (Lady Techster Tennis Complex) Doubles 1. Gordo/Quevedo (SFA) def. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) 9-7 2. Starkova/Britos (TECH) def. Lorca/Maxl (SFA) 8-5 3. Terentyeva/Kulicke (SFA) def. Chiacchio/Merker (TECH) 8-5 Singles 1. Gordo (SFA) def. Starkova (TECH) 7-5, 0-6, 6-1 2. Britos (TECH) def. Quevedo (SFA) 6-4, 6-4 3. Sramkova (TECH) def. Kulicke (SFA) 6-4, 6-2 4. Handa (TECH) vs. Terentyeva (SFA) 6-1, 6-7 (0-7), 3-1, unfinished 5. Merker (TECH) def. Lorca (SFA) 6-4, 7-5 6. Chiacchio (TECH) def. Acosta (SFA) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Middle Tennessee 4, Louisiana Tech 0 April 4, 2015 at New Orleans, La.
Doubles 1. Sramkova/Handa (TECH) vs. Shulzhanok/William (MT) unfinished 2. Huxley/Moraes (MT) def. Starkova/Merker (TECH) 8-4 3. Grace/Sediri (MT) def. Chiacchio/Britos (TECH) 8-5 Singles 1. Starkova (TECH) vs. William (MT) unfinished 2. Britos (TECH) vs. Shulzhanok (MT) unfinished 3. Sramkova (TECH) vs. Grace (MT) unfinished 4. Huxley (MT) def. Handa (TECH) 6-3, 6-3 5. Moraes (MT) def. Merker (TECH) 6-3, 6-1 6. Sediri (MT) def. Ballinger (TECH) 7-6 (11-9), 6-1
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^ Atlanta, Ga. % New Orleans, La. $ Shreveport, La. * denotes C-USA match # denotes C-USA Tournament
Score L, 2-5 Overall Conf. L, 0-7 Season W L W...L L, 1-6 Spring 2015....... 7.......11........0.....2 L, 3-4 Spring 2014....... 15.....7..........3.....1 L, 2-5 Spring 2013....... 15.....5..........7.....1 W, 5-2 Spring 2012....... 14.....8..........0.....3 L, 2-5 L, 1-6 Spring 2011....... 11.....9..........0.....4 W, 4-3 Spring 2010....... 8.......18........1.....7 W, 5-0 Spring 2009....... 3.......21........0.....6 W, 7-0 Spring 2008....... 4.......17 W, 4-0 Spring 2007....... 1.......15 L, 1-6 Spring 2006....... 4.......14 W, 4-2 Spring 2005....... 10.....12 L, 0-4 Spring 2004....... 9.......12 W, 6-1 Spring 2003....... 5.......10 L, 1-6 Spring 2002....... 7.......13 L, 0-4 Spring 2001....... 3.......19 Spring 2000....... 11.....15 Spring 1999....... 5.......16 Spring 1998 ...... 8.......9 Spring 1997....... 7.......8 Spring 1996....... 12.....4 Spring 1995....... 6.......12 Spring 1994....... 17.....6 Spring 1993....... 6.......13 Spring 1992....... 8.......19 Spring 1991....... 6.......13 Spring 1990....... 5.......12 Spring 1989....... 5.......18 Spring 1988....... 5.......18 Spring 1987....... 4.......10 Spring 1986....... 10.....14 Spring 1985....... 17.....8 Spring 1984....... 13.....4 Spring 1983....... 13.....11 Spring 1982....... 21.....6 Spring 1981....... 11.....13 Spring 1980....... 7.......8 Spring 1979....... 8.......9 Spring 1978....... 6.......10 Spring 1977....... 3.......8
T E N N I S
Date Opponent 1/16 at #55 Wichita State 1/17 at #19 Oklahoma State 1/25 NICHOLLS STATE 1/30 vs. Florida Gulf Coast^ 1/31 at #67 Georgia State 2/6 at Northwestern State 2/11 at SMU 3/7 at #19 Texas Tech 3/17 ASA JUNIOR COLLEGE 3/23 ALCORN STATE 3/23 GRAMBLING STATE 3/25 JACKSON STATE 3/28 SOUTH ALABAMA 3/29 STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 4/4 vs. Middle Tennessee*% 4/8 vs. Tyler Junior College$ 4/11 at #30 Rice* 4/16 vs. North Texas#
ALL-TIME RESULTS
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2015 RESULTS
T E N N I S
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HONORS AND AWARDS All-Conference Conference USA 2015 First Team (Singles): Alexandra Starkova Third Team (Singles): Jazmin Britos 2014 First Team (Singles): Alexandra Starkova Second Team (Singles): Jazmin Britos
Second Team (Singles): Vivian ten Dolle Freshman of the Year: Joanna Nalborska 2010 Second Team (Singles): Vivian ten Dolle 2002 Second Team (Singles): Annabella Duque
Western Athletic Conference 2013 First Team (Singles): Joanna Nalborska First Team (Doubles): Joanna Nalborska First Team (Doubles): Alexandra Starkova Second Team (Singles): Manoela Chiacchio
All-Louisiana 2015 Second Team: Alexandra Starkova 2014 Second Team: Alexandra Starkova 2013 Second Team: Joanna Nalborska Second Team: Alexandra Starkova
2012 First Team: Alena Erofeyeva Second Team: Elne Barnard Coach of the Year 2014 LSWA: Chad Camper
LETTERWINNERS
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Pam Arledge (1985-86)
Amy Elmore (1998)
Sabrina McBride (1999)
Jolene Shirley (1977)
Danette Aud (1988)
Alena Erofeyeva (2010-13)
Jody McCormack (1990)
Julie Sippel (1978)
Bridgett Ballard (1995-97)
Crystal Farley (1992)
Misty McGowen (1999-00)
Mallory Smith (2008-09)
Haley Ballinger (2015)
Laura Fernandez (2012)
Traci McKinley (1993-96)
Kim Smitherman (1995-97)
Elne Barnard (2011-12)
Barbie Fitterer (1985-86)
Taly Merker (2013-15)
Marta Sramkova (2014-15)
Karen Bass (2001)
Alexandra Gaspar (2006-08)
Anna Mitchell (1998-99)
Alexandra Starkova (2013-15)
Sandi Beasley (1996-98)
Sheila Glover (1987)
Kay Mock (1977-80)
Vivian ten Dolle (2010-13)
Cathy Blythe (1992-95)
Kathy Goebel (1981-83)
Rebecca Moity (2001-02)
Lee Todd (1983-86)
Lynda Boltos (1991)
Kristin Graif (2000-02)
Andrea Moncada (2004)
Carolina Tran (2006-07)
Jazmin Britos (2014-15)
Jessie Gray (2007)
Amy Mulvihill (1987-88)
Kamie Treybig (1999-00)
Lacey Brooks (1997-00)
Jett Grigsby (1978)
Joanna Nalborska (2013-14)
Jill Urban (1985-86)
Taylor Capannolo (2015)
Tarrannum Handa (2015)
Heidi Nielson (2001)
Saharai Uriarte (2002-05)
Anne Chabloz (1988)
Valerie Harrison (1978-79)
Joy Nyman (1986-87)
Melanie Urvoy (2011-14)
Helen Chemaly (1982-84)
Sophie Heldoorn (2011, 13)
Ruth Ann Oliver (1980)
Jessica Valesco (1992-94)
Manoela Chiacchio (2013-15)
Susan Hepburn (1988-91)
Jody Orton (1992-95)
Cecile Vichery (2010)
Crystal Clark (1996-98)
Susan Herring (1977-78)
Catherine Owens (1989)
Tracey Walters (1990-93)
Connie Coker (1977)
Deanna Hogan (1991-94)
Carolina Pachon (2008)
Marla Watson (1979-82)
Claudia Coleman (1994-95)
Leslie House (2001)
Punam Paul (1988-89)
Janie Webb (1980)
Maria Coronel (2012)
Heather Howell (1989)
Lisa Peterson (1980-81)
Jeanne Weber (1983-86)
Kristen Davies (2000-01)
Rocio Juarez (2008-10)
Sherry Pilcher (1989-91)
Ashley Wedderburn (2007-09)
Maartje de Wit (2009-12)
Gunilla Kall (1989-90)
Holly Ready (2002-05)
Katie Westbrook (2004-05)
Cindy Delgado (1982-83)
Monica Kelly (2004-07)
Ann Raborn (1978-79)
Karen Whitfield (1994)
Dawn Delgado (1977-78)
Danielle Landry (2003)
Jill Register (1978-81)
Wendy Williams (1980-83)
Kortney Deveny (1996)
Miren Libano (1991-92)
Laura Rodriguez (2009-10)
Jenny Wuller (1987)
Carol Dille (1979-81)
Lauren Longbotham (2000-03)
Alicia Saars (1983-86)
Taeko Yamasaki (1987-88)
Gail Dowell (1977)
Christie Lumpkin (1991)
Tiffany Sanders (1999-00)
Wendy Zatloukal (1996-98)
Becky Dumas (1981-84)
Morgan Majors (2002-03)
Daniela Sarquiz (1995)
Anna Zurek (2011-12)
Tracey Dunn (1982-84)
Ada Makowska (2006-09)
Bianca Schoneck (1995-96)
Anabella Duque (2002-05)
Avril Martinez (2003-06)
Andy Shannon (1978)
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Years Wins 1979-82 60 2002-05 52 1981-84 49 2010-13 45 2010-13 44 1980-83 42 1992-94 37 1993-96 36 2013-pres. 36 2002-05 35 1988-91 35
Doubles 1. Becky Dumas 2. Marla Watson 3. Wendy Williams 4. Vivian ten Dolle 5. Maartje de Wit 6. Saharai Uriarte 7. Lacey Brooks 8. Cindy Delgado Holly Ready 10. Tracey Dunn
1981-84 1979-82 1980-83 2010-13 2009-12 2002-05 1997-00 1982-83 2002-05 1982-84
52 47 44 42 39 37 32 31 31 30
Career Matches Played Singles 1. Wendy Williams 2. Deanna Hogan 3. Tracey Walters Becky Dumas 5. Susan Hepburn Marla Watson 7. Lauren Longbotham 8. Anabella Duque Saharai Uriarte 10. Lacey Brooks
1980-83 1991-94 1990-93 1981-84 1988-91 1979-82 2000-03 2002-05 2002-05 1997-00
85 81 80 80 79 79 75 73 73 72
Doubles 1. Wendy Williams 2. Maartje de Wit 3. Becky Dumas 4. Marla Watson 5. Vivian ten Dolle 6. Sherry Pilcher 7. Saharai Uriarte 8. Holly Ready 9. Lauren Longbotham 10. Susan Hepburn
1980-83 2009-12 1981-84 1979-82 2010-13 1989-91 2002-05 2002-05 2000-03 1988-91
85 82 79 76 69 65 68 65 64 62
Season Match Wins Singles 1. Marla Watson 2. Alena Erofeyeva Marla Watson 4. Becky Dumas 5. Wendy Williams
1982 2012 1981 1982 1982
21 19 19 18 17
Doubles 1. Cindy Delgado 2. Marla Watson Tracey Dunn 4. Becky Dumas Vivian ten Dolle
1982 1982 1982 1982 2012
17 16 16 15 15
Career Winning Percentage Singles (min. 30 wins) 1. Marla Watson 1979-82 2. Alexandra Starkova 2013-pres. 3. Anabelle Duque 2002-05 4. Manoela Chiacchio 2013-pres. 5. Alena Erofeyeva 2010-13
60-19 (75.9%) 36-14 (72.0%) 52-21 (71.2%) 31-15 (67.3%) 44-25 (63.8%)
Doubles (min. 20 wins) 1. Wendy Zatloukal 2. Cindy Delgado 3. Becky Dumas 4. Marla Watson 5. Vivian ten Dolle
1996-98 1982-83 1981-84 1979-82 2010-13
T E N N I S
Career Match Wins Singles Name 1. Marla Watson 2. Anabella Duque 3. Becky Dumas 4. Vivian ten Dolle 5. Alena Erofeyeva 6. Wendy Williams 7. Jessica Valesco 8. Traci McKinley Alexandra Starkova 9. Saharai Uriarte Susan Hepburn
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ALL-TIME RECORDS (DUALS ONLY)
21-10 (67.7%) 31-15 (67.4%) 52-27 (65.8%) 47-29 (61.8%) 42-27 (60.9%)
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TEAM RECORDS
COACHING RECORDS
Most Wins
Quinton Yray Jim Watkins Philip Campbell Clayton Traylor Chad Camper Scott Mayhew Joe Pullis Terrence de Jongh Betty Markham Bryan DePriest Freddy Gomez John Vinson Lacey Brooks Pat Downs Pam Arledge Tomislav Poljak Chris Rudiger Greg Hearn Jay Butler
1. 1982 2. 1985 1994 4. 2014 2013
21 17 17 15 15
Best Percentage 1. 1982 2. 1984 3. 2013 1996 5. 1994
21-6 (77.8%) 13-4 (76.5%) 15-5 (75.0%) 12-4 (75.0%) 17-6 (73.9%)
Most Consecutive Wins 1. 2014 2. 1982 3. 2013 1994 5. 1985
11 10 9 9 7
2007-12 1994-96 1982-83 1984-85 2014-pres. 1991-93 1980-81 2004-05 1977-79 1999-00 2013 1989-90 2001-02 1986 1987-88 1998 1997 2003 2006
41-87 37-23 34-18 30-12 22-18 20-46 19-22 19-24 17-25-1 15-31 15-5 12-32 10-32 10-14 9-27 8-9 7-8 5-11 4-14
Most Consecutive Wins to Start Season 1. 1985 7 Most Shutout Wins 10
M
R U A L
N A
V
IV
IA
N
T
E
N
D
O
LL
E
A
B
E
LL
A
D
U
A
Q
U
LO
E
N
G
B
O
T
H
A
M
O
N
IC
A
K
E
LL
Y
1. 1994
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GUICE
University President
Louisiana Tech University and President Les Guice share a rich history together that spans five decades and has produced family ties that are deeply rooted in a passion for the Bulldogs and Lady Techsters. From an architecture student stepping on the campus for the first time in 1972 to an appointment as Louisiana Tech’s 14th President in 2013, Dr. Guice has shown an unwavering commitment to leadership and service to his alma mater. One of Dr. Guice’s first achievements at Louisiana Tech was earning a bachelor of arts in architecture in 1976. Discovering a passion for engineering under the mentorship of Professor Jack Painter, Dr. Guice went on to earn a master’s degree in civil engineering from Tech in 1978. While working on his master’s degree, Dr. Guice also discovered a passion for teaching and education as a profession. Dr. Guice accepted a position as an assistant professor of civil engineering at Louisiana Tech in 1978 and was promoted to associate professor in 1981. A few short years after earning his Ph.D. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University in 1986, Dr. Guice was named the interim department head of civil engineering in Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering in 1988 and earned the permanent department head position and full professorship in 1989. As department head, Dr. Guice initiated the formation of the Civil Engineering Advisory Board and the Civil Engineering Distinguished Alumni recognition program, both of which significantly enhanced alumni participation and significantly enhanced fund-raising for the department. Throughout the next decade, Dr. Guice would continue to distinguish himself as an academician, researcher, administrator and leader. His dedication to his students, his faculty and the university would lead to his appointment as Dean of Louisiana Tech’s College of Engineering and Science (COES) in 1999. As Dean, Dr. Guice continued to encourage and support innovations in the curricula. The College’s faculty became increasingly successful in securing external funding for the integrated curriculum which resulted in a transformative redesign of curricula throughout the College. Dr. Guice’s leadership and vision also reinvigorated the Engineering and Science Foundation to more effectively serve the needs of the College. He initiated a new integrated strategic plan, known as “COES 2010,” and capital campaign, “Tech’s BEST,” that led advancement of the college and to funding for an Eminent Scholar Chair, 15 Professorships, $500k Scholarship Fund, and several new laboratories and facilities. Dr. Guice leadership also helped to guide the Institute for Micromanufacturing (IfM) toward a focus on the emerging field of nanotechnology. With the hiring of key nanotechnology faculty in numerous disciplines, further expansion of research laboratories, establishment of an interdisciplinary engineering PhD program with a nanotechnology track, and initiation of a B.S. in Nanosystems Engineering, the IfM and COES established strong research and education nanotechnology programs that have received national recognition. In 2004, Dr. Guice’s performance and accomplishments as dean of the College of Engineering and Science led to his appointment as Louisiana Tech’s vice president for research and development. During his tenure as vice president and as executive vice president in 2012, Louisiana Tech has significantly increased patents, licenses/options, start-up companies, SBIR grants with affiliated companies, and has established strong industry partnerships for commercialization of technologies. Dr. Guice also led the establishment of Louisiana Tech’s first two technology incubators, the Rawle and Humana Enterprise Centers. With a focus on the future and a progressive vision for economic development, Dr. Guice has led the planning and development of the Louisiana Tech Enterprise Campus – a research park connecting the university and downtown Ruston. Enterprise Campus’ first building, Tech Pointe, was completed in 2012 and is now home for several companies and organizations, including an Air Force funded Cyberspace Research
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Laboratory. With the recent completion of Louisiana Tech’s new College of Business building and renovation to University Hall as a home for interdisciplinary entrepreneurship and innovation activities, the first phase of Enterprise Campus is nearing completion. Dr. Guice’s reputation for exemplary leadership has not been bound by the campus or the region. Roles in statewide leadership have included election to serve as the founding Chair for the Louisiana Optical Network Initiative (LONI) Management Council, serving as Chair of the Louisiana EPSCoR Committee, and leading the development of a statewide science and technology plan, called FIRST Louisiana. Dr. Guice currently serves as Chair of the Board of Regents Master Plan Research Advisory Council and as chair of the Louisiana Innovation Council. Among the many awards and recognitions Dr. Guice has earned during his career is the Robert E. Russ Award from the Ruston/Lincoln Parish Chamber of Commerce (2009), Outstanding Civil Engineer from the ASCE Louisiana Section (2008), Louisiana Tech University Civil Engineering Distinguished Alumnus (2007), Louisiana Engineering Society’s James M. Todd Technological Accomplishment Award (2007), Governor’s University Technology Leader of the Year Award (2006), and Louisiana Engineering Society A.B. Patterson Medal for an Engineer in Management (2004.) On December 4, 2012, during a special session of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, Dr. Guice was unanimously voted to serve as the 14th President of Louisiana Tech University. Dr. Guice officially took over as President on July 1, 2013. As President of Louisiana Tech, Dr. Guice is the chief executive officer of north Louisiana’s only Carnegie Foundation national research university and one of only two public universities from Louisiana recognized in the top tier of national universities by U.S. News and World Report. Dr. Guice leads a university that most recently has been ranked #11 in the nation in a list of “Most Underrated Colleges In America” (Business Insider), #17 in the nation in a list of “Low Cost Colleges with High Starting Salaries for Graduates” (Affordable Colleges Online), and #21 in the nation for providing its graduates with the best returns on their investments (AdvisorOne.) Throughout his career, Dr. Guice has contributed to and played a central role in creating the culture and vision for the future of Louisiana Tech, and continues that commitment as President. Dr. Guice’s focus on campus-wide engagement, building and growing relationships, and leadership in forging a path toward advancement of the university’s academic and athletic programs, research and commercialization activities, and economic development efforts means that Louisiana Tech University’s best days are yet to come. Dr. Guice is a native of Monroe and grew up in Bastrop. He and his wife, Kathy, have three sons – Kyle, Chad, and Bret – one grandson, Christopher, and twin granddaughters, Elizabeth and Everly.
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TOMMY
McCLELLAND Director of Athletics @TMcClelland Louisiana Tech boasts one of the rising young stars in the industry in Athletics Director Tommy McClelland, who enters his third year in Ruston after an impressive debut. McClelland joined the LA Tech Family when University President Les Guice introduced him as the new athletics director during a press conference at the Charles Wyly Athletic Center on July 16, 2013. McClelland, the youngest AD among all Football Bowl Subdivision athletic programs, came to Ruston after serving six years in the same position at McNeese State in Lake Charles. His first two years in north Louisiana have been successful ones. McClelland’s philosophy of developing student-athletes into champions on the playing fields, in the class room and in life is the cornerstone of his leadership style. While leading Louisiana Tech into the Conference USA era, McClelland impacted the athletics department through fundraising, facility improvements, coaching hires and overall student-athlete development. Shortly after his hiring, McClelland re-energized the LA Tech fanbase when he joined President Guice in an October press conference revealing the updated plans for the $22 million Davison Athletics Complex located in the south endzone of Joe Aillet Stadium - the centerpiece of the University’s Quest for Excellence capital campaign. McClelland completed the fundraising needed for the project, and the new facility opened in August of 2015. The three-story facility, 70,000-plus square foot building benefits all of Louisiana Tech’s student-athletes; it includes a new state-of-the-art strength and conditioning complex utilized by all 16 of the University’s athletic programs. The building also houses football coaches’ offices, football locker room, team and position meeting rooms, club seating and a multi-functional dining space that can be utilized for athletic and campus events. It will generate an additional $500,000 annually in revenue. Another marquee addition to the Louisiana Tech athletic facilities during McClelland’s tenure is the $1.2 million Paul Millsap Vision presented by Community Trust Bank, a high definition video display board in the Thomas Assembly Center. The project also included a customized sound system for the Thomas Assembly Center and a video board control room, which will be utilized for both football and basketball. These two major facility improvements and additional smaller scale projects were made possible through a pair of record-setting years in fundraising. During the 2013-14 fiscal year, McClelland spearheaded the efforts in raising more than $10.8 million through both LTAC and Quest for Excellence; more than double any previous year in Tech Athletics history. Included in the record total were five, seven-figure gifts. The 2014-15 fiscal year saw record totals in Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC) unrestricted donations -- both in dollar figures and in total number of donors. It also included increases in ticket sales in football, men’s and women’s basketball. Tech had plenty of success stories on the playing fields during the past two years, led by the Bulldog basketball team winning back-toback Conference USA regular season titles and advancing into the NIT with impressive road wins over SEC foe Georgia (2014) and Texas A&M (2015). The Dunkin’ Dawgs tied the program single season wins record (29) in 2014 and totaled 56 wins during the two year span. On the gridiron, the Bulldog football team captured the Conference USA West Division title in 2014, recording a 9-5 overall record and barely falling to Marshall in the C-USA title game. Tech earned an invitation to the Heart of Dallas Bowl and promptly defeated Big 10 foe Illinois 35-18. In addition to the men’s basketball and football successes, the Lady Techster tennis team recorded one of its best seasons in program history, posting a 15-7 record and earning the No. 5 seed in the C-USA championships. First-year head coach Chad Camper earned the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Coach of the Year Award, and the Lady Techsters earned their first ever regional ranking, finishing seventh in the
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southern region of the final Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings. Tech sophomore Victor Lange became the first Bulldog golfer ever to earn an NCAA Regional appearance and competed in the San Antonio Region and Lubbock region the past two years. McClelland also made some tough personnel decisions, making coaching changes in both women’s basketball and baseball. McClelland made a national splash with the hiring of Tyler Summitt to lead the tradition-rich Lady Techster basketball program. Summitt, son of legendary Tennessee Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt, is the youngest head coach of any Division I women’s basketball program. He brought instant national notoriety back to the program and led a senior-laden to a winning record in year No. 1 while beginning the process of changing the culture. Summitt and the Techsters were featured by national outlets such as CBS 60-Minute Sports, NBC Nightly News, USA Today, ESPN.com, ESPN SportsCenter, New York Times, Sports Illustrated and more. He also hired one of the rising stars in college baseball in Greg Goff, a 21-year coaching veteran who recently led Campbell to its third straight 40-win season. The Camels joined LSU, Florida State, Oregon, Oregon State, Louisville, South Carolina and Rice as the only NCAA Division I baseball programs with at least 40 victories in each of the past three years. Goff led the program to this year’s NCAA Regionals. In year No. 1 at Tech, Goff guided the Bulldogs to within one game of a .500 record, which was a 10-game improvement in the win column over the previous season. Prior to coming to Ruston, McClelland made a national name for himself after quickly elevating to the athletics director position at age 26. He earned high praise from a number of high-profile, experienced athletic administrators. “Tommy McClelland is an outstanding leader and one of the nation’s rising stars in intercollegiate athletics,” said Bubba Cunningham, athletics director at the University of North Carolina. “He has a demonstrated commitment to supporting and developing his coaches and student-athletes and has already become well-known among ADs for his leadership, vision and character. Tommy has also shown a dedication to lifelong learning and the application of his skills and talents to making his athletic programs better.” Prior to being named athletic director at McNeese State on March 19, 2008, McClelland served as interim athletic director and assistant athletic director of internal affairs at the university. In his time at McNeese, McClelland and his staff had numerous success stories when it came to increased revenue streams and the overall game-day experience in Lake Charles. He raised more than $3 million in private donations, and he was instrumental in increasing corporate sponsorships to nearly $1 million, while securing new clients and multi-year sponsorships. McClelland was also responsible for increasing football season ticket sales: the program eclipsed the 8,000 mark in 2008 with a high of 8,035 in 2009. In addition, he was instrumental in setting single-game attendance records in baseball, volleyball, softball, soccer, women’s basketball and women’s tennis.
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HUNGATE Deputy Athletics Director/ Senior Woman Administrator
Deputy Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator Mary Kay Hungate enters her 30th year as a member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics Department and has proven to be an integral part in the emergence of the University’s programs on the playing fields and in the classroom.
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T E N N I S
M A R Y K AY
Not only does Hungate serve as the sports administrator for softball, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s bowling, but she is also in charge of NCAA compliance for all of the university’s 16 NCAA sanctioned programs. As one of the top two ranking administrators in the Tech Athletics Department, Hungate is part of a senior staff that was instrumental in helping the University earn an invitation to join Conference USA starting July 1, 2013. Hungate serves a vital role in the hiring of head coaches. She served as the point person in the hiring process of head women’s soccer coach Kevin Sherry. Sherry led the Lady Techster soccer team to four straight winning seasons (the first ones in program history), the program’s first appearance in the WAC Tournament in 2010 and the program’s first postseason win in the 2014 Conference USA Tournament. She has also been involved in the hiring of a number of other highly successful coaches, including current Lady Techster basketball coach Tyler Summitt, son of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Another of Hungate’s responsibilities includes overseeing the academic side of the Tech athletics department, another area which has improved drastically as proven by the fact LA Tech’s graduation rate continues to be one of the highest in the state (Federal Graduation Report). Louisiana Tech’s student-athletes continue to reach academic progress superlatives. For the seventh straight year the University recorded all-time highs in the most recent Federal Graduation Rate Report released by the NCAA last October. Tech’s student-athletes recorded a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 81 percent and a Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) of 60 percent, which both were improvements over last year’s numbers. Louisiana Tech’s 81 percent graduation success rate ranks as the second highest in the state among Division I football-playing public institutions. LA Tech’s graduation success rate is one percentage points higher than last year’s (80) and easily outdistances the state average of 69 percent among the other nine Division I football-playing public institutions in the state of Louisiana. Tech also recorded the second highest federal graduation rate of any Division I football-playing public institution in the state at 60 percent, which also bests last year’s mark of 59 percent. The success of Louisiana Tech’s student-athletes in the classroom was across the board as 14 of the 16 Division I sanctioned athletic programs recorded at least a 70 percent GSR led by men’s golf, women’s basketball and women’s tennis with 100 percent scores. The Lady Techster basketball team’s GSR ranked first in the state (tied with Tulane and Centenary) and first in C-USA (tied with Rice and Middle Tennessee). One of the most impressive numbers in comparison to program’s across the country was posted by the Bulldog football team which recorded a 77 percent GSR, which ranks first in the state of Louisiana among public institutions and fourth among all Conference USA programs (behind only Rice, UTSA and Middle Tennessee). Hungate also plays an important role in LA Tech’s NCAA Certification process. As a member of the Steering Committee and the liaison between the athletic department and the University’s Self Study Committees, she provides the information needed for the committees to write their reports. In addition, Hungate and the current senior staff have also garnered a number of national awards, including the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award which recognizes colleges for managerial excellence across four areas: marketing/branding; fan development; community relations; and customer/client service. The Tech athletics department also finished in the Top 10 three times in the Excellence in Management Cup, which recognizes the most efficient athletic departments in the nation. Hungate joined the Louisiana Tech staff in 1985 as an assistant women’s basketball coach and remained in that role for five years. During that time, the Lady Techsters participated in four Final Fours and won the NCAA National Championship in 1988. In 1990, Hungate made a move out of coaching and became assistant athletics director for academics and compliance as well as senior woman administrator. One of Hungate’s early accomplishments as assistant director of athletics was the creation of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Academic Center program. Hungate has served terms on the NCAA Division I Academics/ Eligibility/Compliance Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Interpretations/Legislative Review Subcommittee, the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators Wade Trophy Selection Committee and as an NCAA Peer Reviewer. She has also served on the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Issues Committee since 2004. She served on the Western Athletic Conference Council, the Conferences’ Legislative Review Committee, the Finance Committee and
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“Tommy is a rising star in the college athletics administration field and, in my view, the ideal leader to advance Louisiana Tech’s athletics program as it transitions into Conference USA,” said Ian McCaw, athletics director at Baylor University. “He possesses impeccable integrity and has an extraordinary work ethic. Moreover, his interpersonal and relational skills are outstanding and will enable him to quickly connect with Bulldog fans as well as campus and community leaders.” One of McClelland’s main goals was to improve the life of the student-athletes and increase the game-day experience for the McNeese State fan base. One of the most effective ways to accomplish these goals was by improving the facilities. During his time at McNeese State, he oversaw a combined total of over $11 million dollars in facility renovation and new construction. The combination of increased revenue streams, renovations and new construction, and a highly-involved fan base led to plenty of success stories on the playing fields. During his tenure as athletic director, McNeese won Southland Conference championships in football (2007, 2009), soccer (2006, tournament; 2007, regular season), softball (2010, tournament; 2013, regular season), men’s basketball (2011, regular season), women’s basketball (2011, regular season; 2011 and 2012 tournament) and men’s cross country (2012). The women’s basketball program made its first appearances ever in the NCAA Tournament, and the men’s basketball program hosted the first round of the NIT postseason tournament (Boston College live on ESPNU). Even more impressive is the fact that while the Cowboy and Cowgirl programs were capturing titles on the fields, the University’s student-athletes were making tremendous strides in the classroom. In five of McClelland’s six years as athletics director, McNeese State led the Southland Conference in the number of student-athletes named to the Commissioner’s Honor Roll. In addition, McClelland guided the resurgence in APR success in Lake Charles. The number of athletic programs boasting the required APR score of 925 went from four in his first year to all 16 in his final year. The community service hours performed by the MSU student-athletes also tripled to more than 3,000 during his tenure. “Tommy has a great knowledge of college athletics and excels at helping his student-athletes balance and succeed in their commitments to academics and athletics,” said Warde Manuel, athletics director at the University of Connecticut. “Tommy has also proven his ability to work effectively with coaches and administrators to help his programs be successful.” McClelland earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern State in 2004 and completed his master’s degree in sports administration in 2005. He walked on with the Demons football team and eventually earned a scholarship; he also competed in the javelin for the NSU track and field team. The native of Basile, Louisiana served as a graduate assistant at Northwestern State in athletics and also worked at the Southland Conference office as an administrative intern, assisting with championship events. McClelland is also a 2012 graduate of the Executive Program of the Sports Management Institute and attended instruction at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. McClelland is married to the former Jessica Stokes of Garrison, Texas. They have two sons, Lawson (5) and Grayson (4).
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the Code Book Committee. In addition, along with Athletics Director Tommy McClelland, she represents the athletics department as an exofficio member of the LA Tech Athletics Council. Hungate’s professional career began as Women’s Sports Coordinator and head volleyball, head basketball and head softball coach at Illinois’ Carl Sandburg Junior College. She spent four seasons at the college where she guided the basketball team to a mark of 80-22 which included an 11th place finish in the 1976 NJCAA national tournament. In 1978 Hungate took over the head coaching position at Richwoods High School in Peoria, Ill., and quickly compiled one of the top prep coaching records in the nation. During her seven seasons at Richwoods High School, Hungate’s team ran up an impressive record of 195-13, including a state-record 63 consecutive victories. Hungate was named the National Coach of the Year by USA Today in 1985. Before coming to Louisiana Tech, Hungate amassed a career coaching record of 275-35.
MALCOLM
BUTLER MARCO
BORN
Senior Associate A.D./ External @MarcoBornLATech
38
nated for the Sun Belt Conference’s Sporting Behavior Award and the NCAA Today’s Top VIII Award. He has served in the past as a member of the Sun Belt Conference Fellows Program, the ITA Steering Committee and the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tennis Committee. Born earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Middle Tennessee in 2007 and his master’s in sports management in 2009. He completed the Sports Management Institute Executive Program from the University of Michigan and University of Texas in 2013. He is married to the former Emily Vest, a former Division I tennis player at Middle Tennessee, and the couple has a 3-year-old daughter named Scarlett Elizabeth.
Marco Born enters his second year as a member of the Louisiana Tech senior athletics staff, joining the University in August of 2014 as the senior associate athletics director in charge of external operations. Born comes to Ruston after spending the past 10 years at Middle Tennessee as a student-athlete and administrator. In his new position at Louisiana Tech, Born oversees external operations, including ticketing and marketing while serving as the liaison with LA Tech Sports Properties and Aspire. He is heavily involved in athletic fundraising while also serving on the athletics senior staff and as the sport administrator for baseball. During his first year in Ruston, Born was instrumental in coordinating the sales of the 302-seat club level in the Davison Athletics Complex which will generate more than $500,000 annually. The club level seats sold out more than three months prior to the completion of the project. Born was also a part of a fundraising team that saw $1,150,000 donated to the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC) by more than 1,100 donors while a total of $1.5 million unrestricted dollars were donated. These surpassed the previous records of 1,055 donors as 215 individuals made their first ever gift to LTAC this past year. LTAC membership also increased by 17 percent and revenue increased by 30 percent. Overall ticket sales also increased. men’s basketball revenue increased by 73 percent while women’s basketball increased by 50 percent. Born has served on the athletics staff at Middle Tennessee since June of 2007, including stints as associate athletics director and assistant athletics director for ticketing and marketing. During his time on the senior administrative staff in Murfreesboro, Born handled all internal and external duties with oversight of marketing, ticketing, Aspire and Learfield partners. He served on the senior staff for five years and was heavily involved in the school’s transition to Conference USA. He was instrumental in facilitating ticket sales efforts for sellout crowds of the Murphy Center for both men’s and women’s basketball as well as the three largest crowds in Floyd Stadium history for football, including the first ever sellout in 2011 against Georgia Tech. Women’s basketball attendance consistently ranked in the top 30 nationally ever year. Born also oversaw the $11 million renovation to the Murphy Center and a $1.4 million turf replacement at Floyd Stadium. During his time as a student-athlete at Middle Tennessee, Born was a three-year varsity letter-winner for the Blue Raiders tennis program where he captured the 2005 ITA Division I All-American championship and the 2007 NCAA Division I Doubles championship. He was a twotime ITA Division I All-American, a 3-time All-Sun Belt Conference selection and a member of the 2007 ITA Collegiate All-Star team. Off the courts, he was named to the Academic Honor Roll twice while serving on the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. He was nomi-
LATechSports.com
Associate Athletics Director/ Communications @LATechMButler Malcolm Butler begins his 17th year in the Louisiana Tech Athletics Department, his ninth as the associate athletic director in charge of communications. A 1994 graduate of the Louisiana Tech journalism department, Butler joined the athletic department in July of 1999 as the assistant athletic media relations director. Butler was then promoted to director four months later and served in that capacity until the fall of 2007 when he was promoted to associate athletic director. The Ruston native is in charge of media relations for women’s basketball and softball and also serves as the secondary contact for football while overseeing the daily operations for the entire department. He is a member of Tommy McClelland’s senior staff and also serves as the sports supervisor for women’s tennis. During his time at Louisiana Tech, Butler has been instrumental in promoting numerous high-profile student-athletes including recordsetting quarterbacks Tim Rattay and Luke McCown, and All-American women’s basketball players Tamicha Jackson and Cheryl Ford. He has also worked closely with a number of highly-successful head coaches, including 4-time Hall of Famer Leon Barmore, current Dallas Cowboys wide receiver coach Derek Dooley and current Lady Techster women’s basketball coach Tyler Summitt, son of legendary Tennessee coach Pat Summitt. Over the course of his tenure, Louisiana Tech’s Athletic Communications Department has proven to be one of the most successful in the state. Over the past 14 years, members of the department have won a total of 60 awards at the annual Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA) SID contest, the second most behind only LSU. During that same period of time, Butler has personally garnered 31 awards, tried for most among all state SIDs with LSU Associate Athletics Director Michael Bonnette. Butler is part of a senior staff at LA Tech that has been instrumental in garnering a number of national awards, including the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award - which recognizes colleges for managerial excellence across four areas: marketing/branding; fan development; community relations; and customer/client service. The Tech athletics department also finished in the Top 10 three times in the Excellence in Management Cup, which recognizes the most efficient athletic departments in the nation. He was instrumental in forming the partnership between Louisiana Tech and CBS Interactive in the fall of 2007, including the redesign and hosting of the athletic departments website, LATechSports.com. As part of the agreement with CBS Interactive, a webstreaming platform - LA Tech All-Access -- was created, allowing fans from all over the world to watch live streams of almost all of the university’s home athletic events. LA Tech All-Access annually streams more than 125 live events. Butler has served as the host media coordinator for three NCAA Women’s Basketball First- and Second-Round sites hosted by Louisiana Tech (2000, 2001 and 2003) while also serving as the host media coordinator for the 2008 WAC Baseball Championships and the 2013 WAC
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GILBERT Associate Athletics Director/ Chief Financial Officer
Marie Gilbert enters her 30th year at Louisiana Tech and her seventh as associate athletics director and chief financial officer in the athletics department. Gilbert is responsible for the day-to-day business operations of the athletic department, including overseeing the individual budgets for 16 varsity sports, monitoring athletic funds of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Foundation, serving as liaison with the university’s business offices and supervising the athletic ticket office. She is part of a senior staff at LA Tech that was instrumental in the University’s invitation to join Conference USA starting July 1. She has also been actively involved in numerous initiatives to enhance the athletics department, including signing new agreements with companies such as Learfield, the Aspire Group, Ticketmaster, A-G Administrators, Pepsi and ACS Athletics. She is the sports administrator for men’s golf. The hard work and vision of that same senior staff has led to numerous national awards, including the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award - which recognizes colleges for managerial excellence across four areas: marketing/branding; fan development; community relations; and customer/ client service. The Tech Athletics Department has also finished in the Top 10 three times in the Excellence in Management Cup, which recognizes the most efficient athletic departments in the nation. Gilbert previously served as the budget manager for the College of Engineering for six years where she had similar duties. She was also in the College of Liberal Arts as the dean’s assistant handling day-to-day business in the office while working with budget planning for the year. In 2002, she received the Distinctive Professional Performance and Conduct Award from the Institute of Micro-manufacturing at Louisiana Tech. Gilbert has earned two degrees from Louisiana Tech University and completed a master’s certificate in technical writing. She is a current member of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA) and the College Athletic Business Management Association (CABMA). This is her second year to serve on the program planning committee for CABMA. She is also actively involved in the American Cancer Society and serves as the chair for the Relay for Life Luminaria Service. She is on the Executive Committee for the ACS Relay for Life in Lincoln Parish.
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ADAM
McGUIRT Associate Athletics Director/ Internal Operations @AdamMcGuirt Adam McGuirt enters his third year as the associate athletics director for internal operations after serving more than six years as the director of athletic advancement in the Division of University Advancement. McGuirt’s role includes the oversight of facilities, event management and all capital improvements within the athletic department. He assists in the scheduling, supervision and administration of all athletic facilities while also maintaining relationships with campus constituents, campus security, visiting groups and outside organizations. He is also a member of Athletic Director Tommy McClelland’s senior staff and serves as the sports supervisor for women’s soccer. During the past 16 months, one of his main responsibilities has been the oversight of the construction of the $22 million Davison Athletics Complex in the south end zone at Joe Aillet Stadium. Construction on the 70,000-plus square foot, three-story building began in April of 2014 and is scheduled to be operational by August, 2015. McGuirt has also overseen the complete renovations of the women’s basketball locker room since the hiring of new head coach Tyler Summitt. He is also managing multiple field upgrades at baseball, softball and soccer. During his previous role in athletic advancement, McGuirt was responsible for all areas of athletic development, including donor relations and all aspects of the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC). McGuirt was instrumental in helping more than double the number of LTAC members which resulted in a large increase in private donations. McGuirt also worked closely with the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association in the development and implementation of events for alumni and friends throughout the state of Louisiana and surrounding areas. McGuirt has been a part of a staff at LA Tech that helped the University garner an invitation to join Conference USA, a membership which began July 1, 2013. That same staff has been instrumental in garnering a number of national awards, including the 2010 Turnkey PRISM Award which recognizes colleges for managerial excellence across four areas: marketing/branding; fan development; community relations; and customer/client service. The Tech Athletics Department also finished in the Top 10 three times in the Excellence in Management Cup, which recognizes the most efficient athletic departments in the nation. A native of Shreveport, McGuirt graduated from Louisiana Tech in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. McGuirt is married to April, and the couple has three daughters: Lily, Sophie and Emily.
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Gilbert and her husband, Tim, reside in Bossier with their four dogs.
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Softball Championships hosted by Louisiana Tech. In addition to his media relations responsibilities, Butler serves as the radio play-by-play voice for the nationally-prominent Louisiana Tech Lady Techster basketball team. Butler has broadcast more than 500 women’s basketball games, including 15 NCAA Tournament games, during his 15 years behind the mic. He finished second in the Louisiana Sports Writers Association College Radio Play by Play category in 2013 and third place in 2015. He has also broadcast in excess of 250 softball games, including four in the 2008 NCAA Tournament, and served as the color commentator on numerous Bulldog football and basketball broadcasts. He served as the sideline reporter for the Bulldog football broadcasts the past two seasons. Butler joins Dave Nitz as the co-hosts of Inside Tech Basketball, an hour-long coach’s radio show during the winter. Butler implemented a fundraising campaign for his department in the fall of 2007 and since that time it has raised over $45,000, which has been used to purchase additional equipment, software and other essentials within the media relations department. He is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA), United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). He is also a proxy voter for the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame committee.
N AT E
WARREN Assistant Athletics Director/ Athletic Development @Nate_Warren Nate Warren enters his second year with the Louisiana Tech Family as the assistant athletic director for development where he oversees the fundraising efforts for the athletic department.
LATechTennis
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His responsibilities at Louisiana Tech include identifying and securing private support with an emphasis on major gifts, cultivating and soliciting leadership giving societies, providing oversight for the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club, the Lettermen’s Club and the Director of LTAC. During his first year in Ruston, Warren was instrumental in coordinating the sales of the 302-seat club level in the Davison Athletics Complex which will generate more than $500,000 annually. The club level seats sold out more than three months prior to the completion of the project. Warren was also a part of a fundraising team that saw $1,150,000 donated to the Louisiana Tech Athletic Club (LTAC) by more than 1,100 donors while a total of $1.5 million unrestricted dollars were donated. These surpassed the previous records of 1,055 donors as 215 individuals made their first ever gift to LTAC this past year. LTAC membership also increased by 17 percent and revenue increased by 30 percent. A University of Tennessee and Kansas State alum, Warren comes to Ruston after serving as the assistant director for development at K-State for the past two-plus years. During Warren’s four-plus years at Kansas State which included two years as a graduate assistant, he helped oversee the Ahearn Fund which experienced unprecedented growth from 5,454 members and $12.7 million in gifts to athletics when he arrived to 9,143 members and $25.8 million in gifts to athletics in fiscal year 2012. Much of the growth in the Ahearn Fund numbers was due to the increased focus on leadership annual giving of $10,000 and above, as well as increased focus in Kansas City, Kansas State’s largest alumni base. In his role as assistant director of development, he oversaw an active portfolio of over 150 Ahearn Fund members and prospects, primarily in Kansas City. In addition to his duties in Kansas City, he oversaw membership campaigns and special events, both in the Kansas City area and on campus for returning letter winners. Warren was also actively involved in fund raising for the West Stadium Center, the largest capital project in Kansas State University history both through philanthropic capital gifts and premium seat construction gifts. Warren earned his bachelor’s degree from Tennessee in sports management in 2008 while he completed his master’s degree in education administration and leadership from Kansas State in 2011.
McGuire has worked closely with current head coach Chad Camper (2014 Louisiana Coach of the Year) and former head coach Freddy Gomez and is credited with publicizing all-conference nominees in tennis including the program’s first ever three-time selection in Alexandra Starkova, as well as Manoela Chiacchio, Vivian ten Dolle and Joanna Nalborska who became the program’s first ever conference freshman of the year. In soccer, he has worked with two-time Louisiana Coach of the Year Kevin Sherry and all-conference players Emily Brennan, Mo Rockwell, Caitlin Updyke, Donya Salomon-Ali and Kathryn Sloan (2015 Academic All-American and 2014 Louisiana Player of the Year). He also has responsibilities of assisting with football press conferences, keeping track of post-game notes during games and writing feature stories for the football game day programs. McGuire has performance public addressing for softball and baseball and has provided color commentary for almost a dozen men’s basketball games alongside LA Tech Hall of Fame broadcaster Dave Nitz. He has won multiple awards at the annual Louisiana Sports Writers Association SID contest. His story on defensive tackle Shakeil Lucas and his family’s overcoming of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans won third place while his story on wide receiver Hayden Slack and his family’s long-standing history as part of the Bulldog football program won second place. McGuire’s game notes for men’s basketball garnered second place honors in 2014 while his soccer media guide placed second this past year as well as fifth nationally in the CoSIDA publications contest. He also serves on the Karl Malone Award Committee which chooses the nation’s top collegiate power forward. The Ruston native is a 2006 graduate of Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in English. McGuire resides in Ruston with his wife Kari McGuire of St. Francisville, La., and his 5-year old son Colin.
Kane
Mcguire Assistant Director Athletic Communications
40
Kane McGuire is in his fourth year as Assistant Athletic Communications Director at Louisiana Tech University. He is responsible for the publicity and promotion of the men’s basketball, women’s soccer and women’s tennis teams. He also serves as a secondary contact for the Bulldog football program. McGuire joined the LA Tech sports information staff in July of 2012 after working at Community Trust Bank for five and a half years. During the last four years, McGuire has worked closely with firstyear Bulldog Basketball head coach Eric Konkol and with former head coach Michael White who currently holds the same position at the University of Florida. He has also worked with a number of Bulldogs who are playing professionally including Michael Kyser (three-time all-defensive team member), Raheem Appleby (three-time all-conference selection) and Kenneth ‘Speedy’ Smith (2015 C-USA Player of the Year and AP All-America Honorable Mention). McGuire has publicized the Bulldogs on a national level as they have consistently received points in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls which included the first top 25 national ranking in 28 years during the 2012-13 season. He helped highlight the team’s accomplishments with program records such as 29 wins and an 18-game winning streak en route to backto-back-to-back conference regular season titles and National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances.
LATechSports.com
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Maggie Brakeville SGA President
Lisa Cole
Steve Davison Alumni Rep
Dr. Sean Dwyer
Dr. Marvin Green Alumni Rep.
Mary Kay Hungate Ex-Officio
Dr. Guthrie Jarrell Alumni Rep.
Gary Kennedy
Tommy McClelland Ex-Officio
Dr. Terri McConathy
Judith Roberts
Sam Speed
Heath Tims
Jonathan Ables Head Equipment Manager
Tyson Baldwin Director of LTAC
Blake Baker AC - Football
Corey Baker AC - Men’s Basketball
Blake Bolin Athletic Communications Assistant
Marco Born Senior Associate A.D./External
Ronnie Bradford AC - Football
Elise Broussard Assistant A.D./ Tickets
Kourtney Brown Director of WBB Operations
Anna Buckley Ticket Operations Associate
Amber Burdge Asst. A.D./ Academics
Malcolm Butler Associate A.D./ Communications
Chad Camper HC - Tennis
Roberto Cardona Intern/Sports Medicine
Casey Cathrall Strength & Conditioning
Jacob Cohen AC - Track & Field
Duffy Conroy AC - Men’s Basketball
Aaron Corneil FB Video Associate
Donny Crowe Photographic Services
Ryan Davis G.A./Football
Mickie DeMoss Assoc. HC - WBB
Adriano de Souza HC - Volleyball
Emerald Doria AC - Softball
Emily Embree Aspire Sales Consultant
Andy Fox Dir. Of MBB Operations
Marie Gilbert Associate A.D./ CFO
Greg Goff HC - Baseball
Bill Graham Coordinator/ Special Events
Thomas Graham Academic Adviser
Kiva Gresham AC - Soccer
Jill Hancock Athletic Trainer
Taylor Henry Academic Adviser
Kurt Hester Strength & Cond. Coach
Skip Holtz HC - Football
Jonathan Holden Video Operations Associate
J.D. Hulse AC – Baseball
Mary Kay Hungate Senior Deputy A.D./SWA
Ed Jackson Assistant A.D./ Player Development
Hunter Jenkins G.A./Men’s Basketball
Jeff Jenkins HC - Golf
Bernitha Johnson AC - Women’s Basketball
Gerald Jordan Assistant A.D./ Sports Medicine
Jabbar Juluke AC - Football
Sandra Kane Assistant/NCAA Compliance
Cory Kaplan G.A./Sports Medicine
Eric Konkol HC - Men’s Basketball
Janel Lee FB Video Coordinator
Logan Lewis LTS Properties/ Account Exec.
Richard MacPherson G.A./Football
Brison Manor Strength & Conditioning
ADMIN., SUPPORT & COACHES
@LATechTEN
LATechTennis
T E N N I S
Dr. Donna Thomas Chair
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ATHLETICS COUNCIL
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Tommy McClelland Athletic Director
Rachel McDivitt Marketing Assistant
Robert McFarland AC - Football
Kane McGuire Asst. Director of Communications
Adam McGuirt Associate A.D./ Internal Operations
Jerry Miles HC - Bowling
Mandy Miller Assistant Athletic Trainer
Brenda Milton Office Coordinator/WBB & Soccer
Mark Montgomery HC - Softball
Tom Morris Photographic Services
Chris Nichols General Manager, Aspire Group
Gary Northern Ticket Operations Associate
Taylor Nugent G.A./Sports Medicine
Gabryel Ording AC - Volleyball
Davina Orieukwu AC - Track & Field
Christian Ostrander AC - Baseball
Krista Patrick Exec. Asst. to Football HC
Tony Petersen AC - Football
Rick Petri AC - Football
Dana Pettit Business Ops. Assistant
David Pillen Assistant A.D./ Marketing
Renee Puckett Office Coordinator/ MBB & Volleyball
Tim Rattay AC - Football
Lane Robertson GM/LA Tech Sports Properties
Mike Schrang G.A./Football
Karl Scott AC - Football
Brandon Schoeneck Strength & Conditioning
Kevin Sherry HC - Soccer
Tony Skinn AC - Men’s Basketball
Joe Sloan Asst. HC – Football
Amber Smith AC - Women’s Basketball
Kristi Stake Assistant to the A.D.
Gary Stanley HC - Track & Field
David Stuckman G.A./Football
Tyler Summitt HC- Women’s Basketball
Kim Tanner Office Coordinator/ Facilities, SB, BSB
Anna Claire Thomas Communications Assistant
Kenny Thomas Academic Adviser
Ashley Thompson WBB Creative Services Associate
Matt Thorne Game Management Associate
Shinji Tsumura G.A./Sports Medicine
Josh Wagenaar AC - Soccer
Patrick Walsh Associate Communications Dir.
Nate Warren Asst. A.D./Athletic Development
Christopher Watson G.A./Sports Medicine
Jake Wells AC - Baseball
Justin Wheeler Assistant Athletic Trainer
Rachel Williams AC - Volleyball
Will Word G.A./Sports Medicine
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BUILDING LEGACY A
TALY
JAZMIN
BRITOS
MERKER
ITA Singles A Draw Consolation Champion
ITA Doubles B Draw champion
ZOE
MANOELA
CHIACCHIO
CHEN
ITA Doubles B Draw Champion
2015 ITA SOUTHERN REGIONALS AUBURN, ALA.
ITA Singles B Draw Champion
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2016
L A
T E C H
SCHEDULE
TENNIS
DATE OPPONENT 01.23 at Nicholls State
02.19
01.30
vs. at
Prairie View A&M
Sam Houston State
Texas State
04.05
New Orleans
02.20 Lamar
Tyler Junior College
02.23 Louisiana-Lafayette
04.09
Jackson State
02.05
Northwestern State
03.05
at
Southern Miss*
04.15
Central Arkansas
02.09
at
McNeese State
03.08
at
South Alabama
04.17
at
02.13
at
North Texas*
03.19
at
Georgia State
C-USA TOURNAMENT - MURFREESBORO, TENN.
02.14
Alcorn State
03.20
at
Kennesaw State
04.21-24 C-USA Tournament
Grambling State
03.26
at
SMU
03.29
at
TCU
02.17
at
Stephen F. Austin
#WeAreLATech
@LATechTEN
Rice*
#LadyTechsterTerritory