HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team begins its spring schedule with a match versus No. 7 Duke on Saturday, Jan. 8 at the UH Tennis Complex. First serve is at 11:00 a.m., and admission is free.

 

The Blue Devils, who advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals last year, boast an incredible five players in the ITA singles rankings, including four players in the Top 50. Leading the way is senior Reka Zsilinszka who is ranked No. 4 in the country. The Blue Devils also have two ranked doubles teams, headlined by No. 4 Ellah Nze and Nadine Fahoum.

 

The Rainbow Wahine, meanwhile, finished the 2009-10 season strong with five wins in their last six matches, to close with a 12-14 overall record. UH advanced to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals for the second straight year.

 

While the Rainbow Wahine lost the leadership of three-time all-WAC player Sophie Kobuch, the 'Bows do return seven letterwinners from last year's squad. Among the returnees are senior Natasha Zorec, juniors Dasha Lagmay, Alyssa Nafarrete, Barbara Pinterova and Aglae Van den Bergh and sophomores Katarina Poljakova and Mari Tadaki. Magdalena Ploch, a native of Lüdenscheid, Germany, joins the team this year after two season at the University of Massachusetts where she was named the 2009 Atlantic-10 Freshman of the Year.

 

Pinterova, who earned all-WAC doubles honors with Kobuch last year, is teamed up with Poljakova this and the pair were ranked the No. 59 doubles team in the nation in the preseason ITA rankings.

 

Hawai'i vs. Duke, 11:00 a.m.