Completed Event: Women's Tennis at Northern Arizona on March 20, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 7
W Tennis
at Northern Arizona
L 0-7
Grand Canyon University Athletics
New chapter of tennis begins with fall season
9/19/2024 5:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
Returning pair leads new-look Lopes in Vorster's debut as head coach
The fall season for the new-look GCU women's tennis team begins Friday in Flagstaff.
An opportunity for new Lopes head coach Dané Vorster to learn about her roster, one that has changed drastically since last season.
"I'm excited to see us compete together as a new team in our opening tournament," Vorster said. "We have established a strong team culture and camaraderie over the last few weeks of preseason training."
The roster sits at four players for the fall season, before four more student-athletes join in the spring. A smaller roster count means more opportunities for the players on campus now.
The Lopes return two players: senior Valentina Del Marco and junior Dania Deaifi. Both players have multiple years of experience at GCU with WAC titles and NCAA tournament appearances under their belts. Deaifi went 11-2 last season and pushed her NCAA tournament singles match to a third set when the dual ended at USC.
They will be joined by sophomore transfer Gala Arangio and freshman Angelina Mihajlovic at the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona, this weekend and for the rest of the fall.
The team will play in qualifiers over the next month to position themselves in the WAC Fall Conference Tournament (Oct. 24-27 in Abilene, Texas) and the ITA Conference Master's Championship (Nov. 7-10 in San Diego). Success in these tournaments could be a path to the NCAA Singles Championship in late November.
"These matches are valuable to determine doubles pairings and gain a strong foothold to start the fall individual season," finished Vorster.
GCU has the opportunity to continue on the successful and current trajectory of Grand Canyon tennis at the highest national level.
For a look at the full fall schedule click here.
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An opportunity for new Lopes head coach Dané Vorster to learn about her roster, one that has changed drastically since last season.
"I'm excited to see us compete together as a new team in our opening tournament," Vorster said. "We have established a strong team culture and camaraderie over the last few weeks of preseason training."The roster sits at four players for the fall season, before four more student-athletes join in the spring. A smaller roster count means more opportunities for the players on campus now.
The Lopes return two players: senior Valentina Del Marco and junior Dania Deaifi. Both players have multiple years of experience at GCU with WAC titles and NCAA tournament appearances under their belts. Deaifi went 11-2 last season and pushed her NCAA tournament singles match to a third set when the dual ended at USC.
They will be joined by sophomore transfer Gala Arangio and freshman Angelina Mihajlovic at the Lumberjack Classic in Flagstaff, Arizona, this weekend and for the rest of the fall.
The team will play in qualifiers over the next month to position themselves in the WAC Fall Conference Tournament (Oct. 24-27 in Abilene, Texas) and the ITA Conference Master's Championship (Nov. 7-10 in San Diego). Success in these tournaments could be a path to the NCAA Singles Championship in late November.
"These matches are valuable to determine doubles pairings and gain a strong foothold to start the fall individual season," finished Vorster.
GCU has the opportunity to continue on the successful and current trajectory of Grand Canyon tennis at the highest national level.
For a look at the full fall schedule click here.
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Players Mentioned
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
Women's Wins the WAC Title
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