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
Sunday, January 19
Phoenix, Ariz.
10 a.m.
Grand Canyon
vs
UC San Diego
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
New coach, revamped roster keep title goals
1/17/2025 12:41:00 PM | Women's Tennis, Paul Coro
New GCU coach Vorster adds 4 freshmen, Iowa State transfer with returning pair
By team name, Grand Canyon is the defending WAC women's tennis champion that went to the NCAA tournament last season.
By individual names, the Lopes are largely unknown.
But despite having only two returnees, new GCU head coach Dané Vorster has set the same championship expectation for a team that will lean heavily on four freshmen and a sophomore transfer when its spring season opens against UC San Diego at 10 a.m. Sunday at GCU Tennis Facility.
"We've got some great people who have come in and had a good start straight away," said Vorster, who was the Belmont head coach for the previous two seasons. "We're just getting on the right path of what we want to achieve. Everyone has bought in and knows that the ultimate goal is to win the WAC championship, to keep climbing the rankings and go to the NCAA tournament annually."
A tight roster has meant a tight bond for the Lopes. They competed in the fall with four players before three freshmen enrolled this month and hit the courts for two weeks of training, which intensified quickly with the program's first qualification for the ITA Kickoff Weekend looming after the opener. GCU will open that event Jan. 24 with the host, No. 13 California.
"No one can sit back and have a year to get experience," Vorster said. "It's more accountability and urgency and buy-in. We've brought in the right people to do that. In the last two weeks of practice, we've seen that. It's really positive and gives us a lot of confidence coming into the season."
It is a level that one GCU returnee, junior Dania Deaifi, faced last season, when she went 11-2 on Court 6 singles and was competing in the third set of her NCAA tournament match when No. 23 San Diego clinched the team win.
Deaifi, who is from Irvine, California, won a match at the WAC Tennis Invitational in the fall, when her booming forehand became even stronger.
"She had a great fall and, over the winter break, she beat players from Princeton, USC and UC Santa Barbara," Vorster said. "She's coming back ready, and I'm hoping she plays in the top half of the lineup and is a leader for us."
Senior Valentina Del Marco, who is from Massa, Italy, also has been in the GCU program for three years but has battled knee issues that limited her fall action. Del Marco went 10-8 in doubles play last season.
"She's really confident in her doubles game and with coming forward and taking the net," Vorster said of Del Marco. "We've been working on that transition a lot with her to add even more variety in her game."
Vorster's first recruits landed on the GCU campus in the fall, when sophomore Gala Arangio transferred from a five-win freshman season at Iowa State.
The native of Buenos Aries, Argentina, also won a match at the WAC Tennis Invitational in October, and Arangio reached the round of 32 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional.
"Gala has really felt this is more of her home and a better fit – the whole campus, our team, academics," Vorster said. "She also has had some good results.
"She's seen the high level. Her dream is to go pro. We're working hard with her. She puts in a lot of time on the court. She's probably our hardest worker. We're hoping she can play in those top few spots and lead the team there."
Angelina Mihajlovic, one of four GCU freshmen on the seven-player roster, also joined the program for the fall season, but the Serbia native has not been able to play many matches over the past year.
"She quickly learned in the fall about college tennis and the grit and competitiveness and how much each match means," Vorster said of Mihajlovic.
"She has found her way dealing with those different pressures here. She has adjusted well, and she was thriving on the court by the end of the semester. I'm excited to see what she can do this semester."
Vorster, who is from Brisbane, Australia, tapped into her homeland to fortify the roster with an Australian duo for the GCU spring season.
Vorster made the move they are undergoing when she left Australia for a collegiate career at Texas A&M and Portland State, where she was an All-Big Sky first-team player and ranks second in Vikings career victories.
With Australia high schools graduating in December, freshmen Bella Crossman of Torrumbay and Peyton Duckett of Perth were able to bring their athleticism and powerful forehand play to GCU this month.
Crossman has been ranked as high as No. 237 in International Tennis Federation junior rankings while Duckett was selected to the under-18 All-Australia team.
Playing in Australia state and club competition offers Crossman and Duckett some experience in formats that are similar to college duals, which plays concurrently on neighboring courts with six singles and three doubles matches.
"They bring a lot of experience of playing in ITF and at a high level playing in Australia and some in Asia," Vorster said of the Aussie duo. "They'll adjust to that a little bit more naturally and also bring good energy and passion for tennis."
Karina Hofbauer of Osterhofen, Germany, also joined GCU this month after spending one college year in Germany while developing her ball striking in pro tournaments in Europe, where she reached quarterfinals in doubles and qualifying for singles consistently.
"Karina brings a little more experience and maturity, being older and from traveling all over the world by herself in tournaments," Vorster said. "She also played for a German club, which reached the finals, so she has some team experience."
The Lopes will play two-third of their regular-season matches away from GCU. Vorster scheduled ambitiously to build the Lopes' ITA ranking, which will decide WAC Tournament seeding because there is not a conference regular-season schedule this year. The tourney will be April 17-19 at UT Arlington.
"I believe in a tough schedule," Vorster said. "I want to see where we are with some of the best teams in the country. I feel confident that we are right there and should be the favorites even with a new team."
Because of the roster's international experience, Vorster believes the Lopes can be immediately competitive but also develop talent that peaks while at GCU.
"A good culture can achieve anything," said Vorster, who became the Lopes' head coach in June. "Nothing replaces hard work and doing the dailies well. The confidence we can instill in our players comes from being prepared to compete and being mentally tough competitors. We want to have each other's back and a sense of family. When you care for your teammates and your coaches, you fight a little harder and compete hard.
"I'm loving GCU. This has been great to be in a place that is always looking to keep up with what's happening in college athletics and be competitive. I love that energy, the urgency, the high goals. There are like-minded coaches here to collaborate with. It's evident that the leadership from the president to the AD is invested for the student-athletes and competitiveness. It feels like home to me."
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By individual names, the Lopes are largely unknown.
But despite having only two returnees, new GCU head coach Dané Vorster has set the same championship expectation for a team that will lean heavily on four freshmen and a sophomore transfer when its spring season opens against UC San Diego at 10 a.m. Sunday at GCU Tennis Facility."We've got some great people who have come in and had a good start straight away," said Vorster, who was the Belmont head coach for the previous two seasons. "We're just getting on the right path of what we want to achieve. Everyone has bought in and knows that the ultimate goal is to win the WAC championship, to keep climbing the rankings and go to the NCAA tournament annually."
A tight roster has meant a tight bond for the Lopes. They competed in the fall with four players before three freshmen enrolled this month and hit the courts for two weeks of training, which intensified quickly with the program's first qualification for the ITA Kickoff Weekend looming after the opener. GCU will open that event Jan. 24 with the host, No. 13 California.
"No one can sit back and have a year to get experience," Vorster said. "It's more accountability and urgency and buy-in. We've brought in the right people to do that. In the last two weeks of practice, we've seen that. It's really positive and gives us a lot of confidence coming into the season."
It is a level that one GCU returnee, junior Dania Deaifi, faced last season, when she went 11-2 on Court 6 singles and was competing in the third set of her NCAA tournament match when No. 23 San Diego clinched the team win.Deaifi, who is from Irvine, California, won a match at the WAC Tennis Invitational in the fall, when her booming forehand became even stronger.
"She had a great fall and, over the winter break, she beat players from Princeton, USC and UC Santa Barbara," Vorster said. "She's coming back ready, and I'm hoping she plays in the top half of the lineup and is a leader for us."
Senior Valentina Del Marco, who is from Massa, Italy, also has been in the GCU program for three years but has battled knee issues that limited her fall action. Del Marco went 10-8 in doubles play last season."She's really confident in her doubles game and with coming forward and taking the net," Vorster said of Del Marco. "We've been working on that transition a lot with her to add even more variety in her game."
Vorster's first recruits landed on the GCU campus in the fall, when sophomore Gala Arangio transferred from a five-win freshman season at Iowa State.
The native of Buenos Aries, Argentina, also won a match at the WAC Tennis Invitational in October, and Arangio reached the round of 32 at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional."Gala has really felt this is more of her home and a better fit – the whole campus, our team, academics," Vorster said. "She also has had some good results.
"She's seen the high level. Her dream is to go pro. We're working hard with her. She puts in a lot of time on the court. She's probably our hardest worker. We're hoping she can play in those top few spots and lead the team there."
Angelina Mihajlovic, one of four GCU freshmen on the seven-player roster, also joined the program for the fall season, but the Serbia native has not been able to play many matches over the past year."She quickly learned in the fall about college tennis and the grit and competitiveness and how much each match means," Vorster said of Mihajlovic.
"She has found her way dealing with those different pressures here. She has adjusted well, and she was thriving on the court by the end of the semester. I'm excited to see what she can do this semester."
Vorster, who is from Brisbane, Australia, tapped into her homeland to fortify the roster with an Australian duo for the GCU spring season.Vorster made the move they are undergoing when she left Australia for a collegiate career at Texas A&M and Portland State, where she was an All-Big Sky first-team player and ranks second in Vikings career victories.
With Australia high schools graduating in December, freshmen Bella Crossman of Torrumbay and Peyton Duckett of Perth were able to bring their athleticism and powerful forehand play to GCU this month.
Crossman has been ranked as high as No. 237 in International Tennis Federation junior rankings while Duckett was selected to the under-18 All-Australia team.Playing in Australia state and club competition offers Crossman and Duckett some experience in formats that are similar to college duals, which plays concurrently on neighboring courts with six singles and three doubles matches.
"They bring a lot of experience of playing in ITF and at a high level playing in Australia and some in Asia," Vorster said of the Aussie duo. "They'll adjust to that a little bit more naturally and also bring good energy and passion for tennis."
Karina Hofbauer of Osterhofen, Germany, also joined GCU this month after spending one college year in Germany while developing her ball striking in pro tournaments in Europe, where she reached quarterfinals in doubles and qualifying for singles consistently."Karina brings a little more experience and maturity, being older and from traveling all over the world by herself in tournaments," Vorster said. "She also played for a German club, which reached the finals, so she has some team experience."
The Lopes will play two-third of their regular-season matches away from GCU. Vorster scheduled ambitiously to build the Lopes' ITA ranking, which will decide WAC Tournament seeding because there is not a conference regular-season schedule this year. The tourney will be April 17-19 at UT Arlington.
"I believe in a tough schedule," Vorster said. "I want to see where we are with some of the best teams in the country. I feel confident that we are right there and should be the favorites even with a new team."
Because of the roster's international experience, Vorster believes the Lopes can be immediately competitive but also develop talent that peaks while at GCU.
"A good culture can achieve anything," said Vorster, who became the Lopes' head coach in June. "Nothing replaces hard work and doing the dailies well. The confidence we can instill in our players comes from being prepared to compete and being mentally tough competitors. We want to have each other's back and a sense of family. When you care for your teammates and your coaches, you fight a little harder and compete hard.
"I'm loving GCU. This has been great to be in a place that is always looking to keep up with what's happening in college athletics and be competitive. I love that energy, the urgency, the high goals. There are like-minded coaches here to collaborate with. It's evident that the leadership from the president to the AD is invested for the student-athletes and competitiveness. It feels like home to me."
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Players Mentioned
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Women's Wins the WAC Title
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