CONWAY, Ark. – The Sam Houston women's tennis team will open its 38th season of NCAA Division I action Friday and Saturday at the Central Arkansas Fall Classic.
The Bearkats join Murray State, Kansas City, Missouri State and host Central Arkansas for the two-day event at the Conway Tennis Center.
The competition is the first of four tournaments on the team's 2024-25 fall semester schedule. Sam Houston will follow with two more events on the road as the Kats participate in the ITA Regionals at TCU in Fort Worth October 10-13 and the UTEP Miners Invitation in El Paso November 1-3.
Fall action will conclude with the annual Bearkat Invitational in Huntsville October 25-27. The event will mark the first competition in Sam Houston's new Chuck and Wanda Beckner Tennis Center. The complex is the newest addition to Sam Houston's modern athletic facilities is located at 515 Bowers Boulevard across from Don Sanders Stadium. The facility replaces the McAdams Tennis Center, the home courts for the Bearkats for four decades. The new center features six courts with covered bleacher seating for more than 100 fans.
"One of the most exciting parts of our fall schedule is our opportunity to see a lot of teams that we've never seen before," Bearkat head coach Hubbard said. "That is something that will help us better prepare for the challenges we will face in this spring's Conference USA schedule. To be successful you must be ready to play in all environments against all styles."
In his ninth season as Kat head coach Hubbard welcomes five transfers from strong four-year NCAA tennis programs. The new Bearkats are
Christine Jevicky (Angelo State),
Adithi Venkata Krishnan (Utah Tech),
Sara Sadadinovic (James Madison), Jacqueline Schnabel (Texas State) and
Nayuma Subba (Fresno Pacific).
Two-year Bearkat letter winner
Aaliyah Hohmann from Saariouis, Germany, brings experience to this year's squad after competition for Sam Houston in both the WAC and Conference USA in 2023-24 and 2024-25 respectively.
Each of the incoming Bearkats brings an exciting resume of success to the Kat tennis program.
Jevicky hails from Littleton, Colo., and was undefeated in Lone Star Conference action and earned honorable mention all-league recognition last spring at Angelo State. She was the top ranked junior in Colorado and ranked 145th nationally in Girls 18 juniors play.
Venkata Krishnan, from Anupuram, India, led the Utah Tech Trailblazers in singles victories as a freshman in 2023, posting five WAC victories at the No. 1 position last spring. She was a two-time Academic All-WAC honoree as well.
Sadadinovic, from Tuzla, Bosnia & Herzegovina earned top-four rankings in every age group as a junior player in her county. An ITF ranked junior, she played No. 6 singles as a freshman at James Madison.
A two-year letter winner at Texas State, Schnabel comes from Austin, Texas, and was ranked among the top 35 juniors in the state, in the top 200 nationally in USTA Girls 18 tennis and held an ITF junior world ranking.
Subba originates from Kanagawa, Japan, earned a top 30 singles spot and number 11 doubles honor in the ITA Division II national ranking playing for Fresno Pacific.
"These young ladies have been such a pleasure to work with in practice," Hubbard said. "Everyone has shown up hungry to get into action. Their work ethic is outstanding. They are anxious to start the season."
