SFA Women's Tennis Adds Three Players to Roster
8/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Aug. 29, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin women's tennis team added three players to its roster announced head coach Patrick Sullivan Monday morning. Tereza Bekerova (Prague, Czech Republic), Rachel Pierce (Houston, Texas) and Laura Servise (Kingsland, Texas) have been added to the Ladyjacks 2011-12 roster.
"In terms of both depth and quality, this is easily the best recruiting class that I have had as a coach," said Sullivan. "Those past classes have turned into top-25 teams and of course there is a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck involved in the time between setting foot on campus and winning a conference title, but we certainly have the talent and desire to do so."
Freshman Tereza Bekerova comes to SFA from Prague, Czech Republic with an International Tennis Federation junior ranking of 110 and is ranked number 941 in the Women's Tennis Association. Bekerova was a finalist in the 20th annual Czech junior national championships, putting together an impressive streak of three consecutive wins over opponents ranked in the top-100 in the world. Bekerova was also a finalist in the Ex Pilsen Wilson Cup beating a world No. 2-ranked junior and current top-200 pro before losing a thrilling three-set final to the former No. 1 junior player, Kristina Mladenovic. She also reached the semifinals in the 2009 Belgium Open, posting a win over the No. 3-ranked American in the high-school class of 2010.
Pierce transfers to SFA from Arkansas-Little Rock where she played No. 5 and 6 singles for the Trojans and all three doubles positions before settling in at the No.1 spot to finish the season. As a junior player, she was the #25-ranked player in Texas. Pierce ended her freshman season at UALR as one of only three Trojans to finish with a singles record above .500. Pierce was named to the Sun Belt Conference Commissioner's List for achieving a GPA of 3.5 or above and was also named an ITA Scholar Athlete.
Servise is also a transfer who comes to SFA from Lee College where she played for current 'Jack assistant coach Stephanie Wooten. Servise played mostly at the Nos. 3 and 4 singles positions and Nos. 1 and 2 doubles for the Rebels. She was part of a strong Lee squad that featured three NJCAA All-Americans, and just missed a national championship. She had a remarkable individual effort as well, forming half of a 2011 doubles national championship team. Servise and her doubles partner breezed their way through the NJCAA national championship draw without losing a set before posting a thrilling 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory in the final over in-state rival Tyler Junior College.
"All of our new girls are hard-working, high-character kids who don't know anything other than winning," said Sullivan. "That attitude gives us a great atmosphere in practice and the right daily mindset as we work hard towards achieving the ambitious team and individual goals that we have set. It's an exciting time for SFA tennis and I'm looking forward to beginning our fall season in just a few weeks."
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