Jan. 9, 2007

TULSA, Okla. - When Head Coach Dean Orford scans the roster for 2007, the one thing he will not have to worry about is depth.

"This year we will be extremely competitive at every position," said Orford, "We will be relying on our depth this season as we see this as a very positive point for us."

A positive, indeed, as the talent in the Golden Hurricane lineup does not slip from the top of the roster to the bottom. TU showed that depth in the fall, with strong outings at the Baylor Invitational, the Kansas State Invitational and the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships.

Tulsa returns six players from the 2005-06 squad. Seniors Santie Delport and Kindsay Grimes will co-captain the 2006-07 team and provide plenty of senior leadership. The Hurricane also bring back two juniors in Agostina Santoro and Carla Zabaleta. Sophomores Thalia Diaz-Barriga and Julie Westfall round out the returning athletes for TU.

Thalia Diaz-Barriga won her draw at the Baylor Invitational, which was followed up by an impressive team showing in winning the Kansas State Inviatational.

Tulsa carried that momentum into the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championship, with Santie Delport and Carla Zabaleta advancing to the quartefinals in the singles main draw. Diaz-Barriga recovered to be the last woman standing in the consolation bracket, while also joining with newcomer Eleonora Kuruc to advance to the round of 16 in doubles play.

The 2007 schedule will be one that will push the Golden Hurricane.

Ten teams that finished the 2006 season in the national rankings will face TU in 2007, including an impressive six-match stretch consisting of teams that finished nationally ranked last year.

Tulsa gets three of the 10 matches at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, highlighted by Notre Dame, who finished last season as the fifth-ranked team in the nation. TU will also host ranked-conference foes Rice and SMU, as well as the Conference USA Women's Tennis Championships.

The road schedule will be one of the toughest played by any team in the country. Tulsa will get Kansas and Arkansas in back-to-back matches in January, and will spend the entire month of March on the road against Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas State, LSU and Louisiana-Lafayette, all of whom were among the nation's top-75 teams last year.

Seven of TU's opponents made appearances in last season's NCAA Championship, with Arizona, Rice, Arkansas, Wichita State, Texas Southern, New Mexico and Notre Dame all reaching the tourney. Notre Dame had the best tournament of the seven, advancing to the "Elite Eight" before falling to eventual national runner-up Miami.

"This year's schedule will really push us," said Orford, "But by playing the tougher schedule, we should be better able to make a run late in the season and through the conference tournament."

Senior Kindsay Grimes will play towards the top of the lineup as well as serving as the team's co-captain.

Grimes, a native of Lufkin, Texas, is currently fifth on TU's all-time wins list in doubles play and is poised to crack the list in singles play with a good senior campaign.

Her career singles record of 45-32 is second on the team, while her doubles record of 52-45 is tops on the squad in addition to being in the top-five all-time at TU.

"I expect great things from Kindsay's senior year," said Orford, "She has an explosive, all-court game and has proven that she can compete with anyone in the country.

Tulsa's other co-captain is Delport, a senior, who is coming off a fantastic year in which she finished 28-4 to finish with the seventh most wins in a single-season in TU history. Her doubles record also places her in sixth-place on the school's single-season wins chart.

Delport, a native of Grahamstown, South Africa, is currently fourth on the all-time wins list and is coming off of a fall in which she went 8-2, including a quarterfinal berth at the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championship.

Her career record is the best on the team, and she will play at or near the top of the line-up for the Golden Hurricane.

"Santie is a great ball striker," said Orford, "She can hurt opponents from anywhere on the court. In addition, she has worked on her patience and defense."

Zabaleta, a sophomore from Mar del Plata, Argentina, returns to the team after surviving a near fatal car accident in December 2005.

She has recovered from that accident and is once again at the top of her game after finishing 6-3 in the fall with a trip to the quarterfinals of the Wilson/ITA Central Region Championships.

Zabaleta owns a 32-16 record in her career in singles play and is 29-17 in doubles play.

"I expect to see Carla back in the national rankings in the spring of 2007," said Orford, "She is an exciting, gifted athlete that loves to battle."

Sophomores Diaz-Barriga and Agostina Santoro have both matured in their games and will look to make strides during the spring season.

Diaz-Barriga, a native of Cordoba, Veracruz, Mexico, opened the fall of 2006 with a seven-match winning streak and finished the fall with an impressive 10-1 record.

She currently holds a 27-15 record heading into the fall in singles play and a 22-18 doubles mark.

"Thalia's hard work off the court has resulted in her being much more athletic and coupled with her competitiveness, has made her a formidable competitor," said Orford.

Santoro, a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is coming off an 8-3 fall campaign and will look to step up her game even more in the fall. She carries a career record of 24-19 in singles play and 11-8 in doubles.

"Agostina is extremely consistent off the baseline," said Orford. "She has developed her transition game to become an all-court player and she has the potential to play high in the lineup."

Freshman Julie Westfall rounds out the returners for the Golden Hurricane. Westfall, a Jenks, Okla., native, has compiled a 7-12 career singles mark and is 15-13 in doubles play.

"Julie is a great team player," said Orford, "She has a tremendous work ethic and is a strong doubles contributor with solid volleys and an explosive forehand."

The Golden Hurricane also features a pair of newcomers in Eleonora Kuruc and Marta Marcinkowska.

Kuruc, a sophomore from Novi Sad, Serbia, joins TU after the tennis program at Missouri State was disbanded. She held the No. 1 position during her year at MSU, and comes to TU with three years of eligibility remaining.

"She is an aggressive baseliner," said Orford, "She brings quality defense and experience after holding the No. 1 spot for Missouri State."

Marcinkowska is a sophomore transfer hailing from Poznan, Poland, and will be entering with four years of eligibility remaining. The former Polish National Champion was solid in doubles play, posting a 5-3 mark in the fall.

"Marta is a talented lefty that is adjusting to college tennis nicely," said Orford, "She has a big serve, great volleys and is one of our best doubles players."

The 2007 Golden Hurricane women have the depth and versatility to put together a run at the C-USA Championship on their home turf. As the team picks up more experience throughout the season against this challenging schedule, they will find themselves battle tested for the postseason.