Cowgirl tennis signs five student-athletes

University of Wyoming head tennis coach Kati Gyulai announced on Wednesday the addition of five student-athletes to attend the University of Wyoming beginning in the fall of 2009.

“We are very excited with the new additions to the program,” said Gyulai. “They will each add talent and athleticism to our team. I feel that this is one of the most talented recruiting classes and as a team we are eager to move forward with the program. It will definitely make us more competitive in the Mountain West Conference.”

Here are the signees.
Szandi (Sandi) Kovacs, 5-4, Esztergom, Hungary (Harsányi János Föiskola): A top-ranked junior singles and doubles play over the past several years. Kovacs was ranked sixth in the nation in the Under 18 singles and a member of the national team. She was a finalist in the G3 ITF Doubles tournament and a semifinalist in several G3 ITF Singles tournaments. She is the daughter of Zoltan and Marianna Kovacs, and has two siblings.

Paloma Navarro, 5-8, Tenerife, Canary Islands (La Laguna University): A two-time Toreno de Reyes National Tournament Champion (Under 16 and Under 18), along with winning the Circuito Isla de Tenerife Regional Under 16 Championship in 2005. In that same year, she won the Tenerife Provincial Senior and Canary Island Regional Senior Championships. More recently in 2008, Navarro won the II Torneo Regional Under 20 Tournament, while being the runner-up at the Tenerife Provincial Senior Championship, II Torneo-Master Regional Under 20 Tournament and the Master XIV Circuito Isla de Tenerife Regional Senior Championship. In 2007, she came away with a second place finish in doubles play of the Spanish National Championship. Navarro selected Wyoming over several schools. She is the daughter of Fafael Navarro and Teresa Montes de Oca.

Saša (Sasha) Nemcová, 5-7, Bratislava, Slovakia (Comenius University): A two-time Bratislava regional champion in doubles play, she also earned the top spot at the grade A National Tournament in singles. She also earned the runner-up spot at the Masters National tournament and twice took second at the Bratislava Regional Championships. In singles play, Nemcova placed second at the Bratislava Championships and was a third place finisher three times in the same tournament and once at the Masters National tournament. She is the daughter of Peter Nemec and Elena Nemcova.

Simona Synkova, 5-7, Bratislava, Slovakia (Bratislavská College): One of the top ranked junior singles and doubles player in Slovakia. In 2007, she earned the runner-up spot in junior singles play and women’s doubles at the Bratislava Region Championships. She also finished third in women’s singles play in that same tournament. The previous year, Synkova finished first in the Class B juniors tournament in doubles and Class B women’s tournament in singles, while earning third place honors at the Europe Junior Tournament in Under 16 doubles. She is the daughter of Oldrich Synek and Maria Synkova.

Kim van Ginkel, 5-6, Barneveld, Netherlands (Northern Arizona): van Ginkel comes to Wyoming after spending the past two seasons at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. During her sophomore campaign, she went 7-13 in singles play mainly playing at the number one position, while recording a 5-2 record in Big Sky play. In her first year at NAU, she went 7-3 overall and 6-1 in conference play which included a 3-0 mark at the number three position. That season, van Ginkel also went 9-3 in doubles play. She was named a Golden Eagle Scholar-Athlete and earned Big Sky Player of the Week honors during past two years. She graduated from Johannes Fontanus College in 2006. Placed in the Top eight in age brackets 12, 14, 16, 18 with her highest finish of third in the 18 and under bracket. In 2005, she finished first at the Haren International Tournament. Played for LTC Barneveld Club Team for seven years and the SHOT Zeist club team for three years. She is the daughter of Jan and Suze van Ginkel.