Mississippi State women’s tennis coach Tracy Lane announced the additions of four new players to the 2005-06 squad on Friday. Martina Banikova, Tatiana Feit, Daniela Juskova and Elna de Villiers have signed scholarships to play for the Maroon and White.
"We are really excited about the addition of our four new freshmen,” said MSU head coach Tracy Lane. “Without a doubt they are going to make us an extremely deep squad. We will most definitely benefit from the depth as it will make us stronger at all positions,” said Lane. “A few of the players are having a really tough time adapting to the heat but this will just make them tougher both physically and mentally.”
Banikova is a native of Kosice, Slovakia. She has played in a variety of International Tennis Federation-sponsored tournaments. She reached the semifinal round in the women’s draw of the Slovakia Championship. Banikova was ranked as high as No. 20 in women’s tennis in Slovakia. She is a graduate of Sport High School. Martina is the daughter of Daniel and Kveta Banikova and is enrolled in the management degree program at State.
Feit comes to MSU from Neuilly Sur Seine, France. Her pre-collegiate tennis accolades include qualifying for the Champions of France at the famed Roland Garros tennis facility. She has also played on the ITF circuit, taking part in the $10,000 and $25,000 tournaments. At Progren High School she played volleyball, basketball and ran the 3x500 meter run. She is majoring in psychology at MState.
Fellow Slovakia native Juskova was a teammate with Martina Banikova at Sport High School in Kosice. She has also played in many ITF tournaments, including the $10,000 Presov Qualifying Draw in 2004. Daniela is the daughter of Juraj and Jozefa Joskova.
De Villiers is a product of Grunau, Namibia. Her credentials include playing for the Namibian Fed Cup when she was a junior in high school. She also was a member of the Namibian International team. A participant on the Oranje Meisieskool High School tennis squad, where the team won the Saint Mary’s tournament for high schools for five consecutive years. Elna also played netball, ran track and equestrian. She is the daughter of Jannie and Heleen de Villiers.
State will begin preparations Saturday for the fall season which begins Sept. 16 at the Ole Miss Tournament.
“We are looking forward to starting official practice on Saturday morning and getting things underway,” said Lane.