Indiana University Athletics
Indiana Welcomes Four Newcomers
8/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
Aug. 26, 2005
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2005-06 Indiana women's tennis team welcomes four new freshmen to the Hoosier roster. Alba Berdala, Marah Calvo, Sigrid Fischer and Stephanie Heller are expected to make significant impacts and add more depth to the already strong Indiana team.
"This could turn out to be the best freshmen class we have had in a long time," head coach Lin Loring said. "Sigrid, Alba and Marah all have extensive international experience, and Stephanie has played at the national level all through her junior career. They are going to be the perfect compliment to the players we have returning."
Berdala comes to Indiana from Gerona, Spain where she is currently ranked No. 50 in the Spanish women's rankings and No. 8 in her age group in the junior tennis rankings. Berdala's highest mark in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings was No. 980, and her best finishes came in the quarterfinals of two satellite WTA events.
Calvo attended San Antonio High School in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. While in high school she attended the Evert Academy in Florida for two years. Calvo's highest International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranking was No. 245, and she had a COTECC ranking of No.13. Her best ITF singles results in 2004 were semi-final finishes in the El Paso Youth Tennis Centre ITF Tournament and the Copa International Britania in Mexico. In doubles, she won the 2004 El Paso Youth Tennis Centre ITF Tournament and reached the semi-finals at the Chandra Rubin American ITF Junior Circuit in Fort Worth.
An Eisenberg, Germany native, Fischer, becomes another Hoosier with an impressive international tennis background. Currently, Fischer is ranked No. 168 in the German women's tennis rankings, with her best ranking of No.112 coming in 2004. In juniors, Fischer ranked No. 29 in the Girls 16s and No. 40 in the Girls 18's. Fischer played Regionalliga, Germany's third highest league, and was the No. 3 player for the Tennisclub Weimar. In 2004, she won the doubles draw at the Women's State Championships of Thuringia and reached the finals in singles competition in 2005.
The final addition for IU is Glenbrook North High School's Heller. An honor roll student and 2004 team captain, Heller was the 2004 Illinois high school doubles champion. Heller was named second team All-State in singles in 2002 and 2003, and a member of the 2003 and 2004 Midwest Whiteman Cup Championship team. Heller has earned a ranking as high as No.115 nationally in Girls 18s in 2004 and as high as 83rd in Girls 16's in 2004. Stephanie is not the only Heller in the Big Ten. Her brother, Ryan plays tennis for Michigan.
"The coaching staff is really excited about this year," Loring said. "Seldom do you have the combination of a great recruiting class and almost all your starters returning."
