Sept. 20, 2017
San Jose, Calif.----- With more than 1,200 student-athletes playing NCAA Division I women's tennis, to be ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's (ITA) preseason top-125 singles rankings is a testimonial to outstanding play.
For San José State senior Sybille Gauvain, the Spartans' #1-singles player the last three seasons, she is the number-one ranked Mountain West player at #50 and only one of two conference players in the preseason rankings.
A big part of the Spartans winning the 2017 Mountain West championship, Gauvain was 21-10 in singles action and had three wins against nationally-ranked opponents last season. The French native finished the season 91st ranked in the ITA national singles rankings.
"Congratulations to Sybille on her top-50 preseason ranking. She will start the fall campaign at the San Diego State tournament at the end of the month and will look to improve her ranking," says San Jose State head coach Chad Skorupka.
The Spartans begin the 2017-18 season at the Battle In The Bay women's tennis tournament, Friday through Sunday, September 22 through 24 at the Cal Club located at 1770 Scott Street in San Francisco.
Sophomore Tamara Culibrk and freshmen Julie Vereecke and Laura Malsert will be competing for San Jose State.
Fourteen (14) other West Coast players join Culibrk and Malsert battling for the singles title in the 16-player draw. Eight teams including San Jose State's entry of Culibrk and Vereecke are competing in doubles.
"The top players from Bay Area schools will be represented (at this tournament). This will be the first collegiate tournament for Laura and Julie and I'm looking forward to watching them compete," adds the Spartans head coach who also gets his first look at Culibrk and Vereecke as a doubles tandem.
"We will be using the fall to form our three doubles teams for next spring."
The Battle in the Bay is one of team's six fall tournaments. As the highest-ranked Mountain West player, Gauvain will be a singles entry in the prestigious Riviera ITA All-American Championships in Pacific Palisades, Calif., in early October.
The Spartans also have tournaments at San Diego State, September 29-October 1; at Saint Mary's, October 6-8; at Stanford, October 19-23; and at Santa Clara, November 3-5.
The dual match season begins January 26, 2018 against Sonoma State.