BOONE, N.C. - App State women's tennis opens the 2021 season against No. 12 NC State on Sunday at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
About the Mountaineers
Who Returns
App State returns four players from last season's 6-4 squad, including the senior tandem of
Teodora Sevo,
María José Zacarias and
Sandra Anglesjö. Zacarias totaled 15 victories with six coming in dual matches, while she was 5-3 in doubles. Sevo is back after missing the season due to a lower-body injury but won 11 contests in 2019 as the No. 1 in the singles lineup and went 9-4 with Angelsjö in doubles en route to an All-Sun Belt selection. Angelsjö chipped in with three wins in dual play in doubles and seven in the fall last season.
Newcomers
App State brings in
Helena Figueras,
Peri Tippins and
Ksenia Aleshina. Figueras transferred from Tyler Junior College, where she captured a singles fourth flight national champion and a doubles second flight champion. The native from Spain also earned a JUCO ITA Cup doubles title her second semester. Aleshina committed to the Apps in the fall following a solid career before App State, competing in Les Petits As (Little Champions), one of the premier junior tennis tournaments held in Tarbes, France. Aleshina reached the quarterfinals in singles and the semifinals in doubles. Highlighting her run in 2017 was a victory over Cori "Coco" Gauff, who went on to defeat Venus Williams in the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and is the youngest player to appear in the top 100 WTA rankings.
Peri Tippins is in her first season with the Black and Gold after playing her high school tennis at St. Johns in Florida.
Schedule Outlook
App State released its schedule earlier this week. The Mountaineers will host six home matches, face three-ranked ACC opponents and play 10 Sun Belt contests. Five of the first six matches will take place on the road, while the home opener is on Feb. 13 against Western Carolina.
Antal at the Helm
Head coach
Ashleigh Antal is in her first year as the head coach of the Mountaineers. Antal spent two successful seasons as an assistant coach at Big West powerhouse Long Beach State, where she helped the Beach boast a 25-10 mark, highlighted by LBSU's 2019 Big West Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. It was the first time LBSU won its conference title since 2015. Antal also brought in
Miller Hales into the fold as the assistant coach. Before coming to App State, she was an assistant tennis professional and USTA Junior Team tennis coach at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. She's spent time out west as the head tennis professional at The Club at Crested Butte in Colorado and a tennis instructor at the Park City Municipal Athletic Center in Utah.
Scouting North Carolina State
NC State is 1-1 after facing Northwestern and then-No.18 UCF at the ITA Kick-Off Weekend tournament. The Wolfpack fell to Northwestern by a score of 4-3 followed by a bounce-back 4-0 triumph over UCF.
Anna Rogers and Alana Smith are both 3-0 in singles play to start the campaign, while Adriana Reami and Lexi Keberle have a pair of wins. Jaeda Daniel/Reami are 3-0 as a tandem to lead the doubles attack.
What's Next
The Apps will face Western Carolina in their home opener on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 3 p.m.
