ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's tennis team added a quartet of highly ranked players to its 2018 recruiting class. Head coach Bryan Koniecko announced that international players Sandra Jamrichova and Nandini Sharma, as well as Miami transfer Sara Culbertson and local Orlando talent Valentina Martin, joined the fold this week.
"I am very excited to announce the addition of Nandini Sharma and Sandra Jamrichova to our tennis program," head coach Bryan Koniecko said. "Sandra and Nandini both come from great families whose parents really care about their development and I look forward to helping them grow as people and tennis players. I know both players will come in and make an immediate impact on our team and continue to raise the bar for UCF tennis. As we spoke about in our recruiting process with them, our goal is to be one of the best programs in America and with the addition of Sandra, Nandini, Sara, Valentina and Domenika, I know we are on our way to doing just that."
Jamrichova recorded a career-best 603 ranking from the WTA. The Slovakian international won the singles ITF $15,000 in Nis, Serbia last season. She also posted a pair of semifinals appearances in 2016 at the ITF $15,000 Hammemet, Tunisia and ITF $10,000 Baja, Serbia, as well as a quarterfinals spot in the ITF $25,000 in Dunakeszi, Hungary. In her doubles career, Jamrichova has two ITF Women's Circuit titles from the $15,000 tournament in Hammamet, Tunisia, in 2017 and the $10,000 Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia, in 2016.
Sharma, a native of India, has been ranked in the top-600 in the ITF Juniors rankings. She has a career-high WTA rank of 964. Sharma reached the singles quarterfinals of the ITF $15,000 event in Lisbon, Portugal in 2017. She also reached the round of 16 at the ITF $25,000 event in Odibos, Portugal. During her junior tournament career, Sharma reached the singles finals of the YMCA TTT ITF Juniors in Chennai, India.
Culbertson had a 16-11 singles record and an 8-8 record in doubles action over two seasons at Miami. The rising junior led the team in doubles winning percentage for the 2016-17 season, the 2017 spring campaign, in dual matches and in ACC matches. Prior to joining the Hurricanes, Culbertson was a four-star prospect from Tennis Recruiting Network and guided the Gulliver Preparatory School to its first state championship in 2016, behind a perfect 21-0 mark in singles play and the single state title.
"Sara will bring us two years of college experience from a great university, and I know she will have an immediate impact on our team," Koniecko added. "She is the type of person and player that will absolutely help the culture on our team with her work ethic and we are excited to start working with her."
Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Martin moved to Orlando when she was 16. Prior to her move to the United States, Martin was ranked in the top-5 for juniors in Venezuela. She won the ITF Juniors Copa El Salvador doubles title and reached the doubles finals of the ITF Junior Copa Mangulina. Martin's highest ITF Junior ranking was 667 earlier this season.
"Valentina has spent the last couple of years close to UCF, and it means a lot to her playing for the Knights," Koniecko continued. "Valentina comes from a great family and she is the type of person any coach is lucky to have on the team. She will put her head down and go to work, and I know Valentina will make some big jumps while playing for the Knights."
The quartet joins Domenika Turkovic to round out the 2018 recruiting class. Turkovic is the top is the No. 1 ranked player in Croatia. She has been a mainstay on the ITF Women's Circuit in 2018, reaching the round of 16 in five singles events and two doubles tournaments.
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