Rutgers Women's Tennis Hosts NJIT in Fall Opener
Sep 14 | Women's Tennis
PISCATAWAY, N.J. (September 14, 2011) – The Rutgers University women’s tennis team – who went 16-7 last spring and earned a berth at the BIG EAST Championships – will start off the 2011 fall season with a home match against NJIT on Wednesday. The contest will begin at approximately 1:15 p.m. at the Rutgers Tennis Complex on the Busch Campus near the Hale Center.
The Scarlet Knights look to build off the success of last year, as the team placed fourth at the BIG EAST Championships, while welcoming three freshmen to the team – Lindsay Balsamo (Wall, N.J.), Noor Judeh (Potomac, Md.) and Satreethai Sasinin (New Brunswick, N.J.).
“Today will be a round-robin competition and it will be good to get everyone some early competitive experience,” said head coach Ben Bucca who is entering his ninth season as the leader of the program.
With the graduation of All-BIG EAST performer Amy Zhang, RU will look for others to step up, including sophomore Vanessa Petrini (Stamford, Conn.) who went 22-1 in singles play in her rookie year. The team will look for leadership out the three seniors – Jennifer Holzberg (Easton, Conn.), Morgan Ivey (Mt. Pleasant, S.C) and Leonora Slatnick (Austin, Texas) – to guide the team back to BIG EAST Championships in the spring.
Other returning players with experience include Stefania Balasa (East Brunswick, N.J.) and Michelle Green (Hilton Head, S.C.).
Wednesday's match is expected to be spirited as NJIT captured the Great West Conference Women’s Tennis Title in the spring and return seven players to this year’s roster. Last season’s championship was the first for a NJIT team at the Division I level as the Highlanders finished at 17-8, winning the 12 out of last 13 matches.
“NJIT is a strong team and we look forward to a great day of competition,” said Bucca.
