Women's Tennis Opens Fall Season At Tennessee Invitational
9/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 14, 2006
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's tennis team, led by captains Christine Simpson and Alex Hirsch, will open the 2006 fall tennis season at the Tennessee Invitational, Sept. 15-17. The tournament will be the first of five that the Demon Deacons will participate in this fall.
Wake Forest returns a full squad from last season, after graduating no seniors. This year Wake Forest boasts two seniors in Ashlee Davis and Simpson. Davis has played in the second singles flight throughout her career and finished her junior season with a 24-11 overall record. She was ranked through the majority of the season last year and has been tabbed as the ITA preseason No. 78 singles player.
Simpson, a transfer from Kentucky, will return for her second season as a Deacon. Last year, Simpson played in the sixth singles position and closed the year with a 14-6 record. In doubles, Simpson paired up with three different partners and finished with a team-best 25-10 overall record. In ACC action, Simpson played with Sierra Poske and Christian Tara, earning a 4-2 and 3-1 record, respectively.
The Demon Deacons return two juniors to the court in 2006, including Hirsch, an All-ACC selection and NCAA singles participant. Entering the fall season, Hirsch was pegged as the ITA Preseason No. 32 singles player, an improvement in her final ranking of No. 43 last spring. In 2005, Hirsch played the entire season at the No. 1 and closed out the year with a 24-11 mark. In doubles, Hirsch paired up at the end of the year with Poske and earned a 2-5 overall record with her. Coming into the fall, the duo was selected as the No. 56 preseason team.
Jenna Loeb, also a junior, returns to the court for Wake Forest. Loeb played in 24 matches and earned 14 victories. She played mainly at the No. 5 position and earned a 2-5 mark in the conference.
Wake Forest boasted a young squad last season and this year will return three sophomores and add one freshman. Ana Jerman played at the No. 3 spot and was one of four players to earn 20 or more singles victories with a 24-12 overall record. Jerman was ranked for parts of the spring and was chosen as the No. 99 preseason singles player entering the season.
Sophomore Christian Tara enters the fall after having an extremely successful summer, winning the mideast region of the ITA Collegiate Summer Circuit. Last spring, Tara played primarily in the No. 4 position and compiled a team-best 25-9 record. She also led the Deacs in ACC victories with a 9-2 record.
Poske, who was a strong competitor in the doubles circuit for the Deacs, split her singles playing time between the No. 5 and No. 6 positions. She finished the year with an 19-19 mark and a 23-13 doubles record. Wake Forest will welcome freshman Sasha Kulikova of Moscow, Russia.
Wake Forest will open its fall season with the Tennessee Invitational. The Demon Deacons will host two tournaments in the fall, the first of which will be the Deacon Invitational on Sept. 23-24. The team will then participate in the ITA All American Tournament series which includes a prequalifier, qualifier and the main draw. From Oct. 20-22, Wake Forest will play in the ITA Southeast Regional and then close the season Nov. 3-5 with the Wake Forest Fall Invitational.
Players Mentioned
