Women's Tennis Signs Three

Dina Chaika, a freshman from Lermontov, Russia, Diana Wong, a junior transfer from the University of New Mexico and Nikolina Jovic, a sophomore transfer from the University of South Carolina will continue their careers on the tennis court with the University of Louisville for the 2018-19 season, according to Mark Beckham, UofL head coach.

"We had the heart of our line-up graduate in Abbie Pahz and Mariana Humberg, so we had to replace them with two high level players with players we feel can have an immediate impact on our lineup," said Beckham. "Our two seniors won a lot of matches against the best players in the country, so it was a major goal to bring in nothing but high level players so we can move forward and not take a step back with the level of our team."

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Diana Wong | Jr. | Hilo, HI | (Transfer from New Mexico)
Diana brings experience and proven success to the team. In her freshman year at UNM, she led her team, going 16-5 in singles play which included a 12-match winning streak to end her season. She was 12-2 in the spring with a 5-0 record in conference play. Her sophomore year she moved up to No. 1 singles for the majority of the season and No. 2 doubles. She was named to the All-Mountain West team in singles.

"With Diana already having this much experience and success at the college level, we think she can play and win against the high level teams we compete against. Everybody we have spoken to about Diana had nothing but glowing things to say about her so we feel she will help us on and off the court, we are beyond excited for her to join our program," said Beckham.

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Nikolina Jovic | So. | Banja Luka, Bosnia | (Transfer from South Carolina)
While Jovic was in juniors, she had multiple wins against top 100 players, won several national titles and earned WTA world ranking points as a 15 year old. Her ability to play at a high level was obvious and looking for the right environment for her to play and develop into the best tennis player she could.

"Her tennis ability because she is a very good player but more than anything I like her competitiveness, she's not going to give you anything and that alone can help you win sometimes when you are not supposed to, she is kind of an old school athlete in that regard. Nikolina is a very talented and dedicated player, she loves being on a tennis court. You can win a lot of matches with that mentality. I will definitely love coaching her." said Beckham.

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Dina Chaika | Fr. | Lermontov, Russia | School #96
According to Beckham, Dina has a chance to make an immediate impact on the team and win at a high level. She was a top 10 player in Russia for all of her age groups and has been a part of the Russian National Team. She has also earned a ranking of #46 in all of Europe as a 14 year old.

"I think Dina has the ability and work ethic we need. Players of her level are in high demand and we had to beat out some very good tennis programs to get her, so I am really excited to see what she can accomplish as Louisville Cardinal," said Beckham.

The Cardinals are coming off a 13-13 record in 2017-18 in a season that showcased the Cards starting out the season 6-0 and included an upset of nationally ranked Virginia Tech. Humberg and Pahz went 26-6 in doubles play and ended the season ranked No. 48. Sena Suswam and Raven Neely combined for a record of 11-4 in doubles and ended the season ranked No. 90.

"I feel all three of these young women will play a major role next season and are all impact players who can help us get wins against our tough non-conference and the ACC schedule. I have to give a lot of credit to Kevin Fulton my assistant, he has been a tireless recruiter and has been a major part of us putting this class together. I feel this is a really strong group of talent coming into the program," said Beckham.

University of Louisville Athletics

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