May 4, 2011
Complete NCAA Individual Field
INDIANAPOLIS - One day after being selected as an NCAA Championship host site, Baylor's women's tennis team earned three singles and one doubles selection into the NCAA Individual Championships held on May 25-30 in Palo Alto, Calif.
In singles, 14th-ranked Sona Novakova earned the Big 12's automatic bid into the 64-player field, while 47th-ranked Diana Nakic and 49th-ranked Nina Secerbegovic each earned at-large bids. Novakova and Secerbegovic, ranked 27th in doubles, also earned an at-large bid into the doubles field of 32 pairs.
"I am so proud of our ladies for earning a place in NCAA Individuals," head coach Joey Scrivano said. "Their hard work and willingness to learn all season has earned them the right to play in this prestigious event. We are really excited that we have 10 days of practice before we start our next match. We can make some improvements and get prepared for the road ahead."
Novakova leads the Lady Bears in both singles and doubles victories with marks of 29-10 and 25-8, respectively. The junior has played Baylor's No. 1 singles position for the majority of the season, compiling a dual-match singles record of 18-8, while being 14-8 against ranked opponents.
Nakic, also a junior, will enter the NCAA Championships as Baylor's hottest player, riding a current win-streak of 17 matches, having lost only set along the way. Nakic has compiled a 26-6 singles mark, and put together a perfect 11-0 record in dual matches against conference opponents.
Secerbegovic, a veteran of the NCAA singles tournament, will try to improve on her quarterfinal finish from the event last season. This year, Secerbegovic has once again turned Baylor's No. 2 singles position into a victory nearly every time out, compiling a 24-2 dual-match singles mark. In doubles, she is 19-13 on the season.
The doubles pair of Novakova and Secerbegovic has only been paired together three times in the dual-match season, but spent time on the court together in the fall. With a 9-1 record overall together, the duo ripped off five consecutive victories to win the USTA/ITA Texas Regional and earn a berth into the National Indoor Championships where they went 1-1.
The Lady Bears will be back on the court next weekend on May 14-15, as they host the first two rounds of the NCAA Team Championships at the Baylor Tennis Center. They will take on UT-Arlington at noon on Saturday, May 14. Oklahoma will take on Cal Poly earlier in the day, while the winners of each match will meet on Sunday, May 15, at 2 p.m. for a chance to advance to the round of 16.
