2022 Season Preview: TCU Women’s Tennis
12/3/2021 12:14:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Strong Fall Season Bolsters Hopes for 2022 Spring Season
FORT WORTH -- TCU Women's Tennis begins its 50th season this January with a new sense of optimism after a string of promising results in the fall. The Horned Frogs return seven student-athletes from last season's roster, including five seniors. TCU has two returners in the preseason singles rankings: Alisa Soleveva (No. 54) and Mercedes Aristegui (No. 75).
"It's been a uniquely different and positive fall for our team," head coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "With so many extenuating circumstances the last few years, combined with a new vision of how we want to operate, we took a radically different approach to the fall season, and it has paid off. I look forward to watching the team's success this spring, knowing that they earned this fall with their maturity and hard work."
This fall, Aristegui earned a WTA ranking when she defeated world No. 877 and former All-American (Georgia Tech) Rasheeda Macadoo at the Fort Worth 25k tournament. She reached the Round of 16 at that tournament and will hope that success carries over into spring competition. She is ranked No. 75 in the preseason rankings, the highest of her career. Aristegui set career-bests last season with 27 overall wins and 20 singles victories.
The Horned Frogs took home a pair of trophies from the Big 12 Fall Challenge. Senior Stevie Kennedy won the singles title while senior Aleksa Ceviticanin and sophomore Isabel Pascual placed first in the doubles consolation draw.
Ceviticanin won the doubles title in her first competitive matches in 25 months. The senior, missed the last two spring seasons with injuries after being ranked as high as No. 102 (singles) and No. 27 (doubles) in 2019. She returns to the lineup this spring after being named All Big 12 doubles in 2019, All Big 12 singles and All Big 12 Freshmen team in 2018.
Kennedy's singles title at the Big 12 Fall Invitational generates positive momentum as she enters her fourth spring season in Fort Worth. Kennedy will be looked at for consistent and experienced play in the TCU lineup this spring as the Frogs push for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Soloveva, No. 54, returns to the lineup after missing the 2021 spring season with an injury. She enters the season as the highest ranked Horned Frog after she defeated current No. 6 Peyton Stearns in the 2020 fall season.
Freshman Helana Narmont had a busy fall schedule, playing her first matches in the United States after growing up in Estonia and playing on the junior circuit across Europe, Asia and Africa. Narmont qualified for the main draw at the Lubbock 15k tournament, collecting some strong results as she looks to become a quick contributor to the TCU spring season.
"Helena showed good resilience this fall," Walker said. "She is a quick learner and applied her early results to her ITF competitions throughout the fall. It was good for her to qualify at the Lubbock 15k, and she played high level tennis against good opponents in Redding (25k) and Norman (15k). We are proud of how she represented the Frogs this Fall, her future is bright."
TCU will add one more student-athlete to the roster this January, when Jade Otway, the No. 1 junior tennis player in New Zealand, gets to campus. She joins the roster that also includes senior Addy Guevara and junior Magaret Polk.
The Horned Frogs open the season on January 15 with an indoor double-header against Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian. TCU is one of four Big 12 schools with multiple athletes in the preseason Top 75 for singles competition, along with Oklahoma, Baylor and defending national champions Texas.
For more information on TCU women's tennis, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUWomensTennis on twitter and Facebook, @tcuwomenstennis on Instagram
"It's been a uniquely different and positive fall for our team," head coach Lee Taylor Walker said. "With so many extenuating circumstances the last few years, combined with a new vision of how we want to operate, we took a radically different approach to the fall season, and it has paid off. I look forward to watching the team's success this spring, knowing that they earned this fall with their maturity and hard work."
This fall, Aristegui earned a WTA ranking when she defeated world No. 877 and former All-American (Georgia Tech) Rasheeda Macadoo at the Fort Worth 25k tournament. She reached the Round of 16 at that tournament and will hope that success carries over into spring competition. She is ranked No. 75 in the preseason rankings, the highest of her career. Aristegui set career-bests last season with 27 overall wins and 20 singles victories.
The Horned Frogs took home a pair of trophies from the Big 12 Fall Challenge. Senior Stevie Kennedy won the singles title while senior Aleksa Ceviticanin and sophomore Isabel Pascual placed first in the doubles consolation draw.
Ceviticanin won the doubles title in her first competitive matches in 25 months. The senior, missed the last two spring seasons with injuries after being ranked as high as No. 102 (singles) and No. 27 (doubles) in 2019. She returns to the lineup this spring after being named All Big 12 doubles in 2019, All Big 12 singles and All Big 12 Freshmen team in 2018.
Kennedy's singles title at the Big 12 Fall Invitational generates positive momentum as she enters her fourth spring season in Fort Worth. Kennedy will be looked at for consistent and experienced play in the TCU lineup this spring as the Frogs push for an NCAA Tournament berth.
Soloveva, No. 54, returns to the lineup after missing the 2021 spring season with an injury. She enters the season as the highest ranked Horned Frog after she defeated current No. 6 Peyton Stearns in the 2020 fall season.
Freshman Helana Narmont had a busy fall schedule, playing her first matches in the United States after growing up in Estonia and playing on the junior circuit across Europe, Asia and Africa. Narmont qualified for the main draw at the Lubbock 15k tournament, collecting some strong results as she looks to become a quick contributor to the TCU spring season.
"Helena showed good resilience this fall," Walker said. "She is a quick learner and applied her early results to her ITF competitions throughout the fall. It was good for her to qualify at the Lubbock 15k, and she played high level tennis against good opponents in Redding (25k) and Norman (15k). We are proud of how she represented the Frogs this Fall, her future is bright."
TCU will add one more student-athlete to the roster this January, when Jade Otway, the No. 1 junior tennis player in New Zealand, gets to campus. She joins the roster that also includes senior Addy Guevara and junior Magaret Polk.
The Horned Frogs open the season on January 15 with an indoor double-header against Incarnate Word and Abilene Christian. TCU is one of four Big 12 schools with multiple athletes in the preseason Top 75 for singles competition, along with Oklahoma, Baylor and defending national champions Texas.
For more information on TCU women's tennis, visit gofrogs.com and follow the team on social media: @TCUWomensTennis on twitter and Facebook, @tcuwomenstennis on Instagram
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
The Roditi Rule
Friday, March 07
#TCU National Champions Day in DC #gofrogs
Wednesday, July 24
Jake Fearnley Talking about his time with TCU Men's Tennis
Tuesday, June 25
TCU Wins NCAA D1 Men's Tennis Championship
Saturday, May 25
