SFA Tennis Kicks Off 2011-12 Season at Home
9/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Sept. 8, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Second-year head coach Patrick Sullivan will send his youthful women's squad on the court Friday to open the 2011-12 season at the SFA Invitational. A rare fall, home opener for the SFA women's team, the invitational is a five-team tournament that will consist of SFA, McNeese State, Tarleton State, Abilene Christian and Collin College.
The tournament will consist of four singles draws and two doubles draws of eight. Every singles' player and doubles' team is guaranteed three matches over the weekend. Play is slated to begin at 9 a.m. Friday morning at the Schlief Tennis Complex.
"We've been working hard and are excited to get the season started," said Sullivan. "This tournament is really just a tune-up, but after beating each other up in practice every day it's fun to finally start keeping score and getting to see all of these new players suit up for the 'Jacks for the first time."
Although Sullivan has brought in a highly ranked recruiting class, SFA enters the year as one of the youngest teams in the nation. The 'Jacks return only one letterwinner from last year's squad that set a school record for wins, and finished the year ranked in the region. Senior Alina Shazhko is the team's lone returning letterwinner from last year, but she was the team's No. 1 singles' player, and one of the league's top players.
Shazhko will be joined by freshman Jithmie Jayawickrema who was Sullivan's lone signee prior to start of the 2010-11 season. Jayawickrema should figure into the success of the upcoming season. She comes to Nacogdoches as the top ranked player from Sri Lanka. This duo will be supported by the nation's top-ranked mid-major signing class in the country - a class that was also ranked No. 23 overall.
-SFA-
