University of Houston Athletics
2005 Tennis Outlook
1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Tennis
Jan. 21, 2005
HOUSTON - The 2005 tennis season begins at the University of Houston with a slightly new look for the program that one year ago went 15-6 in dual matches to claim a third-place finish at the Conference USA Tournament.
First-year head coach John Severance takes the helm at Houston as the seventh head coach in Cougar tennis history; however, Severence is no stranger to the Cougar program. For the past three years he served as the team's assistant coach and helped the team improve from a mark of 7-16 (.304) in 2001, to the third best winning percentage the program has seen in its 27 years of competition, a mark of .714 in 2004.
"I want to build on a pretty successful fall," said Severance. "I think we built a lot of character on our team during the fall, and I am hoping to come out of the gate in February with a very successful start to the season."
With the return of four athletes from last season's team, and the addition of four strong recruits, the Cougars appear set and determined to improve upon last season's success.
After going 12-10 in singles, 13-7 in doubles, and a combined 8-1 against C-USA opponents during the dual match season, senior Biljana Dimovska returns to the lineup for the Cougars.
"We are looking for her to be a senior leader playing at one of the top spots on the team," said Severance. "When she is playing her game, there are not many in the nation that can beat her."
Last season Dimovska went 5-5 at the No. 1 spot for Houston and 7-5 at the No. 2 position. Along with former doubles partner Miranda Foley, the tandem posted a 13-7 mark in dual match competitions as the No. 1 doubles pairing for the Cougars, earning Dimovska Third-Team All-Conference USA honors.
This season, Dimovska will once again be looked to as one of the top contenders for the team's No. 1 singles position, as well as the No. 1 doubles slot.
Another returning senior is Diana Martin. Seeing action at the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 positions, Martin tallied a 10-12 record in 2003 singles play and was 7-13 with her doubles partner, former Cougar Karine Urbin.
Martin came on strong towards the end of the 2004 Fall Season, where she blew through her flight at the Cougar Fall Classic to claim the White Singles Flight, and teamed with junior Kami Miller to knock off fellow teammates Dimovska and junior Yolandi Terblanche in the finals of the Red Doubles Flight at the same tournament.
"Diana is a very powerful player," said Severance. "She had a very good doubles fall, and I am looking for her to compete and contribute a lot of victories in the lineup."
Back for their third season as Cougars are Miller and Terblanche. One year ago the tandem hung a record of 14-7 on their opponents as double partners, and were 6-1 in C-USA matches.
 Junior Kami Miller posted a 19-6 record in 2004 and is one of four returning players.  | |
In the fall season, Miller captured two tournament titles, winning the San Diego Tournament Singles B-Flight title and then capped off the season with the tournament crown in the Cougar Fall Classic White Singles Flight. "I want Kami to continue to play her high-percentage-unorthodox game," said Severance. "I expect her to gain more confidence and continue to play with the high level of success that she has maintained while here at Houston."
After joining the Cougars in spring of 2003, Terblanche played her first fall season with Houston, as did Sacha Gumbs and Tiffany McLoughlin. All three girls bring unique styles and abilities to the team and are capable of breakout performances at any given time. Each one of the three will be able to contribute to the team in doubles and/or singles throughout the season.
The freshman duo of Gumbs and McLoughlin have already teamed up to bring the Cougars a tournament win in their short careers. They claimed the White Doubles Flight at the Cougar Fall Classic.
Rounding out the roster is a set of newcomers who join the Cougar program with strong credentials and loaded resumes.
Sarah Reimer comes to Houston as a junior college transfer from Mesa Community College in Arizona, where she finished the 2004 season as the No. 6 player in the NJCAA DII singles rankings, with a No. 3 doubles ranking. The other is true freshman Brianna Bateup, from Victoria, Australia, where she claimed more than 40 age-division championships since she began playing tennis in 1996.
"I recruited these two girls to come in and push the lineup. I think their talents and their personalities are going to mesh very well and very easily with our team," said Severance. "I believe that adding two quality players and personalities is going to enhance our abilities to attain our goals."
With a team full of talented individuals, the Cougars are hoping to build upon last season's success and ultimately get Houston back into the NCAA Tournament, something the Cougars haven't done since 1998. To get there will require that each one of the players reach her potential as a tough schedule awaits them in the 2005 season.
But despite the tough schedule this year, Severance believes in his team and feels that this squad is capable of great things.
"Our schedule is very demanding in the spring. We have potentially 12 top-75 ranked teams on our schedule, but one of my goals for this team this year is to never lose at home," said Severance. "We have 14 home matches, and if we achieve that goal, then we will have more wins then we have had in the past eight years. I want to build on our win total from last year. I want to have 15 wins before we even get to the conference tournament. Obviously, the ultimate goal is to get to the NCAAs, and become the third team in school history to do that."
