HONOLULU—The University of Hawai'i women's tennis team kicks off the new year with dual matches against Penn State on Thursday, Jan. 5 and No. 6 Baylor on Saturday, Jan. 7 at the UH Tennis Complex. First serve for both matches are at 11:00 am and admission is free.
 
The Nittany Lions have gone 46-37 in singles and 20-19 in doubles this past fall and are looking to build upon their 7-16 record from last season. Penn State is led by junior Petra Januskova, who is ranked No. 96 in the ITA preseason poll. The Baylor Bears, who fell in the NCAA semifinals last season, are led by pre-season ranked No. 14 Diana Nakic, a senior from Velenje, Slovenia.
 
The Rainbow Wahine, meanwhile, finished the 2010-11 season with an 8-13 overall record. UH's season ended with a loss to Nevada in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
 
The Rainbow Wahine are led by returnees Katarina Poljakova and Barbara Pinterova. Last year, Poljakova was named first-team all-WAC in singles after posting a team-best 15-6 dual match record with nine of her wins coming at the No. 1 position. Pinterova earned second-team all-WAC singles honors after going 9-11 in dual matches and 3-2 in WAC action at either the No. 1 or No. 2 spots. The Slovakian duo both garnered second team all-WAC honors in doubles.
 
Hawai'i also welcomes four newcomers including freshmen Rebecca Faltusz, Martina Kostalova, sophomore transfer Kelsey Daguio, and November's WAC Player of the Month—Jamie Pawid. Pawid, a freshman from Castro Valley, Calif., has posted a 3-3 record in singles this past fall—including a straight set win over ITA preseason No. 12 Stacey Tan (Stanford), 6-3, 6-1. The duo of Pawid and Poljakova also faired well in the USTA/ITA Southwest Regionals in San Diego in October, where the pair advanced to the semifinals.
  
This Week's Schedule
Thursday, Jan 5
Hawai'i vs. Penn State, 11:00 a.m.
 
Saturday, Jan 7
Hawai'i vs. No. 6 Baylor, 11:00 a.m.