Jan. 4, 2012
Complete ITA Rankings | 2012 Baylor Schedule
WACO, Texas- Senior Diana Nakic earned a ranking of 14th to lead the sixth-ranked Baylor women's tennis team in the latest release of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings announced by ITA officials.
Baylor, which finished the 2011 campaign with a 29-4 dual-match record, begins this season ranked right where it ended the year past, No. 6. The Lady Bears will look to add another Big 12 crown and NCAA berth, after earning their seventh consecutive conference regular season title, sixth consecutive league tournament title and a spot in the Final Four last season.
Individually, Nakic becomes the sixth player in seven seasons that head coach Joey Scrivano has developed into a top-15 talent, including the third on the current roster. She joins senior teammates Sona Novakova, who earned a ranking as high as No. 11 last season, and Nina Secerbegovic, who was ranked as high as 10th last season. Scrivano also coached NCAA Singles Champion and third-ranked Zuzana Zemenova, fifth-ranked Baylor all-time wins leader Lenka Broosova and ninth-ranked Zuzana Cerna.
Nakic put together a superb 2011 fall season, entering the spring with a 14-4 singles record and six wins over top-60 players. The Velenje, Slovenia, native won six straight matches to claim the ITA Texas Regional and earn an individual berth into the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships. Of her top wins, Nakic defeated then-No. 10 Marta Lesniak of SMU and then-No. 24 Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar each in straight sets at the ITA Texas Regional.
Last season, Nakic claimed NCAA All-Tournament Team honors in doubles and was named the Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player and all-conference in singles.
In doubles, the duo of sophomore Jordaan Sanford and freshman Nicole Kosakowski earned a season-opening rank of No. 47. The pair went 3-2 during the fall tournament season, including a berth in the final of the HEB Baylor Invitational.
Baylor begins the 2012 dual-match season in Hawai'i, taking on Penn State at 11 a.m. HT/3 p.m. CT on Friday, Jan. 6. The Lady Bears will then face the host Hawai'I on Saturday also at 11 a.m. HT/3 p.m. CT.
