Tag: #1 Women’s Tennis

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The reigning NCAA Division II National Champion Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team welcomes Isabella Ciancaglini (Graduate Student/St. Thomas University) and Kristyna Hranacova (Sophomore/Florida International University) as commitments to the 2024-25 roster, announces Head Coach Doug Neagle. 

“We are getting two strong players that have college experience, which helps a lot. Isabella and Kristyna seem like great people, which makes me confident they will be good teammates and make an immediate impact on and off the court,” said Neagle. “I’m excited to welcome both Isabella and Kristyna to our program and can’t wait to begin working with them.”

Ciancaglini, originally from Bolivia, went 45-8 in singles play during her career at St. Thomas, including a 25-1 mark during the 2022-23 season. Ciancaglini held a 14-6 record in 2023-24 season, playing primarily in the number one and number two spot. Ciancaglini also carried a 31-10 record in doubles action. 

Hrancova, a native of the Czech Republic, played her freshman season at FIU. During her amateur playing career, Hrancova was ranked as high as No. 185 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Rankings and won three ITF singles titles, as well as one ITF doubles title. 

The No.1 Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team, led by Head Coach Doug Neagle, won the program’s first NCAA Division II National Championship in 2024. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Women’s Tennis, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_WTennis. 

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced their Division II All-Americans for the 2023-24 season on Wednesday afternoon. Nova Southeastern, the NCAA Division II National Champions, had three student-athletes recognized with All-American honors, as Natalie Espinal (Singles & Doubles), Alexandra Weir (Singles) and Freya Davies (Doubles). 

Espinal, one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of NSU Athletics, capped her collegiate career with a litany of honors. In addition to ITA All-American honors in singles and doubles action, Espinal was named the ITA National Senior Player of the Year, the ITA South Region Senior Player of the Year, and became the first Sunshine State Conference women’s tennis player to be recognized with first-team singles honors five times (2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and the fourth to be named to earn first-team doubles honors four times (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024). Espinal is the only Sharks women’s tennis player to win 100 matches in both singles and doubles competitions. 

Weir, the 16th ranked tennis player in Division II, earns ITA All-American honors after a stellar season as a Sharks. Weir held a 24-13 in singles action, winning each of her first matches at NSU and advanced to the ITA South Regional final. Weir won five-of-six matches for NSU during the Sharks run to the NCAA Division II National Championship. 

Espinal and Freya Davies were named as an All-American doubles tandem and were among the top-two doubles teams in the country throughout the 2023-24 season. Espinal and Davies won the ITA Doubles Cup national title in the fall, the third of Espinal’s career. The duo combined for a 29-4 record winning each of their final 10 matches en route to the NCAA Division II National Championship. 

The full announcement of the 2023-24 ITA All-American list can be found here. 

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LAKELAND, Fla. – The top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team was victorious in the third place match against the Embry-Riddle Eagles at the Sunshine State Conference Championship tournament on Sunday morning. NSU defeated the Eagles 4-0. 

In the win, Natalie Espinal became the first Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis student athlete to win 100 singles and 100 doubles matches in her career. 

Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 21-4 | Embry-Riddle 16-7
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 4 | Embry-Riddle 0
Location: Beerman Family Tennis Complex | Lakeland, Fla. 
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_WTennis

Doubles

Natalie Espinal and Freya Davies were victorious over Blanco and Bret, winning 6-3
Julia Moraes and Sofia Shing defeated Kirivong and Hadipoernomo, sealing the doubles point for the Sharks, with a 6-2 win. 

Singles

Natalie Espinal won versus Blanco 6-0, 6-1
Alexandra Weir defeated Issler 6-4, 7(7)-6(3)
Ita Habekovic sealed the victory for the Sharks, beating Tripaldelli 6-4, 6-0

No. 1 Nova Southeastern awaits the NCAA selection show on Monday, May 6th, at 8:30 p.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Tennis, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_WTennis 

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LAKELAND, Fla. – The top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team was defeated by the second-ranked Barry Buccaneers 4-1 in the Sunshine State Conference Championship tournament semifinals on Saturday afternoon at the Beerman Family Tennis Complex. 

Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 20-4 | No. 2 Barry 17-4
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 1 | Barry 4
Location: Beerman Family Tennis Complex | Lakeland, Fla.
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_WTennis

Doubles
Natalie Espinal and Freya Davies were victorious over Alloiarova and Dema, earning a 6-4 win for NSU. 
Sofia Shing and Julia Moraes were defeated 6-1
Ita Habekovic and Patricie Kubikova dropped their doubles match, in a tiebreaker, 6(4)-7(7)

Singles
Natalie Espinal added a victory over Michalitsch, winning 6-3, 6-1
Alexandra Weir was defeated 1-6, 4-6
Lian Benedejcic dropped her match 1-6, 5-7
Sofia Shing was defeated 3-6, 1-6

Head Coach Doug Neagle – We had our chances today and let this one get away. The good news is, our season is far from over and we need to bounce back quick against a very tough Embry-Riddle team tomorrow. I like that we get to compete again right away after a tough loss. As a competitor, that’s what you want, you want to get right back after it. 

No. 1 Nova Southeastern returns to the courts for the third place match of the Sunshine State Conference Championship Tournament, taking on Embry-Riddle on Sunday, April 28th. First serve is scheduled for 9 a.m. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Tennis, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_WTennis. 

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LAKELAND, FLa. – The top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team began their postseason run with a 4-0 victory over #14 Saint Leo in the quarterfinals of the Sunshine State Conference tournament from the Beerman Family Tennis Complex. 

Records:No. 1 Nova Southeastern 20-3 | No. 14 Saint Leo 14-9
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 4 | No. 14 Saint Leo 0
Location: Beerman Family Tennis Complex | Lakeland, Fla.
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_WTennis

Doubles
Freya Davies and Natalie Espinal started the match with a 6-1 victory over Lancellotti and Obermeier. 
Ita Habekovic and Patricie Kubikova sealed the doubles point for NSU, defeating Martin and Shailina 6-1. 

Singles
Natalie Espinal beat Obermeier 6-3, 6-2
Freya Davies picked up a victory over Lancelotti, winning 6-2, 6-2
Ita Habekovic sealed the Sunshine State Conference tournament victory with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Rabatin. 

Head Coach Doug Neagle – “The ladies came out with great energy today. We weren’t on the court for too long today, which is big when trying to navigate the tough Sunshine State Conference tournament.”

The No. 1 Sharks advanced to Sunshine State Conference semi-finals to take on No. 2 Barry on Saturday, April 27th. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Tennis, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_WTennis

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BOCA RATON, Fla. – The top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team saw their nine-match winning streak come to an end against the fifth-ranked Lynn Fighting Knights with a 4-3 defeat, in Sunshine State Conference action, on Tuesday afternoon. 

Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 3 | No. 5 Lynn 4
Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 14-3, 5-2 SSC | No. 5 Lynn 14-2, 7-1 SSC
Location: Perper Tennis Complex | Boca Raton, Fla. 
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_WTennis

Doubles
Patricie Kubikova and Ita Habekovic defeated Zofia Podbiol and Kristen Younes 6-3, securing the lone doubles victory for the Sharks. 

Singles
Lian Benedejcic picked up a singles victory over Jade Marie, winning 6-1, 6-0. 
Sofia Shing added a win for NSU, as Zofia Podbiol retired from the match in the second set. 
Ita Habekovic earned the third singles win for Nova Southeastern, defeating Kristen Younes in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 10-8

No. 1 Nova Southeastern will play the Eckerd Tritons in Sunshine State Conference action on Thursday, April 11th, in St. Petersburg, Fla. FIrst serve is set for 2 p.m. 

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In their first opportunity to compete since being named the top-ranked team in NCAA Division II, the No. 1 Nova Southeastern Sharks won their ninth consecutive match, and fifth versus a ranked opponent during the 2024 season, beating No. 6  Embry-Riddle 4-3 in Sunshine State Conference action on Thursday afternoon. 

Records: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 14-2, 5-1 SSC | No. 6 Embry-Riddle 12-5, 4-3 SSC
Score: No. 1 Nova Southeastern 4 | No. 6 Embry-Riddle 3
Location: Crotty Tennis Complex | Daytona Beach, Fla.
Get Social: Instagram & X – NSU_WTennis

Doubles
Sofia Shing and Julia Moraes defeated Itxaso Blanco and Laura Cuesta Bret 6-3. 
Patricie Kubikova and Ita Habekovic were victorious over Maja Issler and Kaylee Kirivong, sealing the doubles point for the Sharks with a 6-0 win. 

Singles
Natalie Espinal picked up a win over Blaco, winning 6-3, 6-1. 
Sofia Shing earned a win in singles action, beating Hierro 7-6, 7-6
Julia Moraes clinched the victory for Nova Southeastern, defeating Tripaldelli 6-2, 6-1

The top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team takes on fifth-ranked Lynn University in Sunshine State Conference action on Tuesday, April 9th, in Boca Raton, Fla. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m.
 

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern Sharks Women’s Tennis team, under the direction of Head Coach Doug Neagle, have been ranked the top team in NCAA Division II by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) in the poll released on Wednesday afternoon. The No. 1 Sharks have won eight consecutive matches and are 13-2 on the 2024 season. 

“This is a testament to the work our team has put in all season long. We’ve played some incredibly tough competition throughout the season,” said Neagle. “I’m proud of our team and happy for them, but the ranking is not our ultimate goal. There’s a lot of work that needs to be done.”

On the season, No. 1 Nova Southeastern has defeated four ranked opponents – No. 14 Wayne State, No. 5 Saint Leo, No. 14 Auburn Montgomery, and No. 8 West Alabama – the Sharks also hold a 4-1 record in Sunshine State Conference play. The top-ranked Sharks are lead by the top-ranked duo and reigning ITA Doubles Champions of Natalie Espinal and Freya Davies. The tandem owns an 18-1 record throughout the 2023-24 season. In singles action, NSU has two of the top-10 players across Division II in Espinal (5th) and Alexandra Weir (7th).

No. 1 Nova Southeastern takes on No. 6 Embry-Riddle in a showdown of top-ranked Sunshine State Conference opponents on Thursday, April 4th, in Daytona Beach, Fla. To stay up-to-date on Sharks Women’s Tennis, be sure to follow on Instagram & X at NSU_WTennis. 

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