New Terps Look To Make An Early Impact
1/25/2011 7:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
The Maryland women's tennis team kicks off the spring season at home Thursday with a battle against Navy hoping to build on its success from the fall tournament season.
During the fall, freshman Jordaan Sanford grabbed a singles' title at the Hampton Roads Invite, junior transfer Ana Belzunce reached the finals of the Cissie Leary Invite, and the two teamed up in doubles to advance to the round of 16 at the fall ITA Regionals.
Belzunce got a hot start to her Maryland career. The transfer from Alcala de Heneres, Spain reached the finals of her first tournament at Maryland at the Cissie Leary Invite, winning five matches in a row, before falling to Penn's Connie Hsu, the No. 4-ranked incoming freshman in the country.
Sophomore Burce Kurkan also nabbed a singles' title at the Hampton Roads Invite, where she and Sanford also took home the doubles' title as well. Kurkan went into the final weekend of the fall with a 8-1 singles' record and 3-0 mark in doubles.
Maryland also returns senior Julia Huschke and junior Jordan Hansbrough to the starting lineup. Huschke played much of last season at No. 3 singles, while Hansbrough spent much of the season at No. 4 singles.
In addition to Belzunce and Sanford, the Terps will add four more new players to the spring squad. Dual-sport athlete Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar, who helped the Terp's women's soccer team this fall, will make her Maryland tennis debut this spring after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer rules. Three more freshmen will also join the roster: Megan Dailey from Washington, Mo., Cristina Stancu from Constanta, Romanina, and Welma Luus from Pretoria, South Africa.
"This year's edition of the Terps has an entirely new look," said head coach Howard Joffe. "We will start a minimum of four freshmen out of six starters. The group is athletic and very talented and yet totally inexperienced in college tennis. We are all excited about the chance to learn, compete, and lay the foundation for a team of enduring national strength."
The Terps face Navy at 3 p.m. Thursday at the Tennis Center at College Park to begin the spring season. Admission is free.
Update (January 27, 2011, 1 p.m. ET): The University of Maryland campus is closed Thursday due to the inclement weather. However, the Maryland-Navy match will proceed as scheduled.
