Thursday, July 10, 2003

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (July 10, 2003) - East Tennessee State University's women's tennis head coach, Steve Brooks, announced the addition of Mariya Ilyina (Kyiv, Ukraine) for the upcoming 2003-04 season. "I am very excited to have Mariya join our team next year," commented Brooks. "Her experience will definitely help take our team to the next level. At 6'0" she is also a excellent doubles player." Ilyina, who trained at the Antei Tennis Academy, is currently ranked No. 2 in Ukraine singles and No. 1 in doubles. Over the last four years she ranked in the Ukraine under-18 top 30. "Each year our team has climbed up the conference ladder. Next year we will compete against 14 teams that were nationally ranked last year with two of them being ranked in the top 10 NCAA I. Having a strong schedule and strong players like Mariya will help ETSU Women's Tennis get to the next level."