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Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK IN PANTHER TENNIS

Sept. 12-14

The University of Northern Iowa women’s tennis team begins the 2008 fall season in Minneapolis this weekend at the University of Minnesota Gopher Invitational.

LET THE MATCHES BEGIN

• The Panthers enter the 2008-09 season hoping to improve off of their 14-9 record and fourth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference last season.

• Sachin Kirtane enters his seventh season as head coach. Kirtane has compiled a career record of 74-49 coaching the Panthers. He is currently second in all-time coaching wins and will have a chance to become UNI’s winningest women’s tennis coach this season. Kirtane needs 10 wins to surpass the current leader, Pete Mazula.

• UNI returns four student-athletes from the 2007-08 squad. Returners include sophomores Laia Gonzalez-Garrido and Diana Mendez, junior Sampada Kanade and senior Taynara Moraes.

• Panther tennis adds three fresh faces. Talia Jang-Stewart, Jessica Kunzelmann, and Phoebe Walker join the team as true freshmen.

• Sampada Kanade enters the season as a key returner. Last season, Kanade went 5-3 at the No. 1 singles position and 8-6 at the No. 1 doubles position.

• Tennis’s academic tradition continued last season as they were awarded the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) All-Academic team honor for the fifth consecutive season. Sampada Kanade also earned herself ITA Scholar Athlete status.

• Taynara Moraes hopes to continue her success at the Gopher Invitational as she won the tournament’s Star Doubles Flight with Ashton Schwerin last year.

• Des Moines will be the Panthers’ second home this fall season as both the Drake Invitational and MVC Individual Championships are set to take place at the state’s capital.