Regionals Next Stop for Titans Women's Tennis

Bolstered by the confidence of its first winning season in its three-year history Eastern Florida's women's tennis team heads into this weekend's NJCAA Region 8/FCSAA Tournament at Sanlando Park in Altamonte Springs.

Under first-year head coach Jerry Thor the Titans finished 10-9 overall and 4-8 in Region 8, good for fifth place among seven teams.

The 2014 inaugural women's team finished 3-11 overall, 1-9 in the region and sixth in the tournament. The 2015 team finished 4-9 overall, 2-8 in the region and fifth in the tournament.

The top three team finishers advance to the NJCAA Women's Division I Championship in Tyler, Texas along with the winner at No. 1 singles and the winners at No. 1 doubles.

"Regionals is what we have been working hard for every day since our first practice back in August," said sophomore and captain Nicole Trio who earlier this season had a 7-0 record in singles.

"For me it is like the finale to end my college tennis career, and an opportunity to have an encore if we finish in the top three and go to Texas in May for the National tournament.

"The level of competition is extremely high and we all know what we will be facing. One of our goals is for each player to win the first round of the tournament, which will help us accumulate the points we need to make it to Texas."

Representing the Titans will be freshman Katharina Drebka, who played No. 1 singles and doubles this season; Trio; freshmen Giulianna Hull; Ann-Kathrin Zilles, who at one point ran off 10 consecutive singles victories; Ana Cristina Orozco; and Annaleigh Collings.

Drebka and Trio will compete at No. 1 doubles; Collings and Hull at No. 2; and Orozco and Zilles at No. 3.

The singles ladder will be Drebka, Hull, Collings, Trio, Zilles and Orozco.

Things get under way at 9 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Players are seeded in singles and doubles based on regular season conference matches

Victory in the main draw will be worth one point in singles and doubles. The consolation draw is worth one-half point.

ASA Miami enters the tournament as the nation's top-ranked team, according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll. St. Petersburg College is ranked fifth, Broward College fifth and State College of Florida Manatee-Sarasota sixth.

ASA Miami was perfect in conference, finishing 12-0. St. Petersburg was second at 10-2. Broward and State College of Florida tied for third at 7-5. 

"Some of the top teams in the country will be there," Thor said of the tournament. "It's going to be a battle, it's going to be a battle for years to come. We look forward to getting some experience, to compete and represent the college well.

"The women have really made some great strides. We tripled the win total from last year. We put the culture of the program in place.

"We're not finishing until they tell us we're finished. We've been working real hard. We want to make those other teams in the state earn it."