BOONE, N.C. - App State women's tennis head coach Blake Mosley has his team preparing for a tough start when it faces No. 8 North Carolina State on Monday at 2 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
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About the Mountaineers
The Apps are coming off one of their best seasons in program history with a 15-6 mark and a 9-1 record in Sun Belt play en route to the program's first conference championship. Coming back from that squad are the quartet of Sandra Anglesjö, Kate Earnhardt, Teodora Sevo, and María José Zacarias. Angelsjö and Sevo were All-Sun Belt doubles while Sevo, Earnhardt, and Zacarias make up three of the top five returning wins leaders last season in singles.
Who's New
Coach Mosley reloaded to make up the loss of seniors, Jeannez Daniel, Rebecca Morse, and Heidi Swope. He brought in Selina Atay, Sasha Pisareva, Cassie McLay and Virginia Poggi.
Sasha Pisareva
Pisareva transferred from Utah State, where she posted a career mark of 44-21 in singles and 27-27 in doubles action during the fall and spring slates. Twenty-six of her 44 victories came in the No. 1 spot, posting a solid 26-13 record in the top position in the lineup. This past season, she earned all-Mountain West Conference honors after registering an Aggie-best 22-9 showing with an 11-3 record as the No. 1. She won a season-high seven straight matches. Her freshman campaign was just as impressive, as she landed on the all-Mountain West singles team following a 22-12 record.
Selina Atay
Atay is one of six international players on the team and was recently added to the program. Atay boasted an ITF Pro Circuit ranking of 1006 in doubles, while her highest standing was a 989.
Cassie McLay
McLay earned four varsity letters at Boca Raton Community High School and boasted a 10 on the UTR scale. Dating back to June of 2018, McLay participated in nine singles tournaments and five doubles events. She posted a 3-0 mark in singles action at the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Florida Level 4 Summer Smash Sectional Championships in the summer of 2018,
Virginia Poggi
Poggi helped her U16 team earn a top-8 ranking three times in the past six seasons. Poggi qualified for top-3 regional four out of five years in U12, 13, 14 and 16. For her high school career, she has won over 30 tournaments in the Italian Open Circuit against players ranked in the Universal Tennis Rating at 10 or higher.
Scouting NC State
The Wolfpack are off to a 4-0 start with all four victories coming at home. NC State recently defeated Charlotte following a 6-1 win for its first top-10 victory in program history against No. 9 South Carolina. NCSU boasts three players ranked in the top 31 in singles as of Nov. 13 in Anna Rogers (18th), Adriana Reami (23rd) and Alana Smith (31st). Two of the Wolfpack's doubles tandems are ranked in the top 22 with Smith/Rogers being recognized as the top pairing in the nation and Jaeda Daniel/Reami No. 22.
What's Next
App State will face a second straight ACC opponent on the road against Virginia Tech next Sunday in Blacksburg, Va. at 10 a.m.
