While the Spring season has come and gone, the Men's & Women's Teams have been busy preparing for our fall season. In preparation for our upcoming seasons, we would like to introduce our new Graduate Assistant and our new recruits. Although we only graduated two students, Pablo Noya and Lina Ziani, they are being replaced with 6 new recruits (3 men and 3 women).
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Graduate Assistant Lina Ziani
Originally from Casablanca, Morocco, Lina started playing tennis at the age of six and continued through college in Iowa before moving to West Virginia to study healthcare management. During the past two summers, I've coached tennis while pursuing my academic goals. My future goal is to manage a hospital, integrating my passion for healthcare with my leadership skills. We are excited to have Lina as our GA. We believe she will help us take both the Men's and Women's teams to regional and beyond!
Galia Mezouar
The Tunisian Galia was born in a house full of tennis balls and racquets! She started playing at the age of six at the biggest and oldest club of the country the "Tennis Club of Tunis". She competed in numerous national and international u16 tournaments, including some ITF junior tournaments. Her forehand and slice backhand made her among the elite players of Tunisia. Recently, Galia has played a key role with her club to win the national championship, while she was just 16 years old. She has shown great skill both in singles and doubles over the years. When asked why Salem, she said "I'm very excited to join the Salem Tigers Tennis team and believe my enthusiasm, work ethic, experience and talent will help the team get to the next level."
Salome Molina
The Ecuadorian Salome was born in Quito, Ecuador. She began her life in the world of tennis at the age of 7. Since then, she has continued training and playing numerous national and international tournaments from the 12-year-old category to the 18 year-old category. Salome has participated in several international tournaments such as COSAT and ITF both inside and outside of Ecuador where she has had very good results in both doubles and singles. Her most important strength is her forehand and her service, which have greatly highlighted her development on the court. When asked why Salem, Salome said "I'm very excited to join the Salem University team this fall to be able to work and grow day by day as a tennis player and as a person and above all work as a team"
Ekaterina Korsakova
Ekaterina (Kate) joins Salem University, where her sister Daria (Dasha) will be a Junior and has played at the number two Singles spot this past year. Kate's tennis career began at 7 years old, and she describes herself as hardworking, honest and responsible on and off the court. Kate is originally from Orenburg where she has been playing for the regional team. She has reached the finals, the semifinals and has won several tennis tournaments in the last couple of years in regional and inter-city competitions. When asked Why Salem, Kate said "I've played tennis for the last 12 years and am excited to continue playing this wonderful sport at the highest level possible"
Keshav Gupta
Keshav Gupta is excited to be a part of the Salem Tennis Team and pursue his Master's degree. He did his undergraduate from Bharatividhyapeeth University. He has participated in AITA national tournaments and has won Inter School tournaments back in his school days. When asked Why Salem, Keshav said " Having a chance to play at the collegiate, Division II level pushes me to work harder and grab more opportunities in the future and I look forward to explore new things and to meet and work with the rest of the team."
Enrico Pucci, Freshman
Tennis is a significant part of Enrico's life. It has him the values of perseverance, discipline, and teamwork. When asked Why Salem, Enrico said "I'm passionate about continually improving my skills and contributing positively to the team. I look forward to working with the Salem Tigers tennis team and achieving great success together. Let's make this journey a remarkable one" This last year for Enrico was full of hard work and competition. He was a Champion of the 2023 regional games, defending my hometown, São Carlos. In addition, Enrico was a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) doubles champion in São Paulo, in June 2023. He also Played ITF juniors qualifiers in 2022.
Damion Shaw
Damion played tennis the last four years at Lincoln High School in Shinnston, West Virginia. Damion was the number two singles and was part of the number two doubles team. In addition, he made the Quarter Finals at both the Big Ten and Regional tournaments this year. Damion joins one of his friends and a recent Lincoln High School graduate, Daniel Dodd, who will be a Junior Education major at Salem University this Fall. Damion likes to work and has a lot of dedication and resilience, on and off the court. When asked Why Salem, Damion said "I strive to be a key member of any organization I belong to and the community at large. I believe joining the Salem Tennis team and eventually graduating from college will help me continue to achieve these goals."
