JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (June 4, 2025) – The ETSU women's tennis program announced the signing of two new student-athletes for the 2025-26 season on Wednesday. The newest Bucs are Mariangel Estrella (Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela) and Utah State transfer Niyati Kukreti (Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India).
 
"It's been awesome getting to know Mariangel and Niyati through the recruiting process," said ETSU Assistant Coach Laylo Bakhodirova. "They're both talented and motivated, and I'm really looking forward to having them on the team. I think they'll bring great energy and fit right in with the group"
 
Estrella joins the Bucs after representing her home country Venezuela in multiple international tournaments. She reached as high as 446 in the ITF rankings before making her way to Johnson City. She won the J60 ITF Monterrey Championship in Mexico and was the runner-up at the J100 tournament in Medellin, Columbia. At one point was ranked the No. 2 player in South America in the 14-and-under category.
 
Kukreti, meanwhile, comes to Johnson City after spending the last two seasons at Utah State. During her time with the Aggies, Kukreti totaled 19 singles victories and added 16 doubles wins. She was named to the 2024 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District team for her work in the classroom. Before enrolling at Utah State, Kukreti compiled a 32-24 singles record to go with a 20-12 mark in doubles. She reached as high as No. 3 in India's Under-16 athletes in 2022 and came in at No. 13 in the U18 rankings. Kukreti was also a member of the India's National Team at the 2022 Junior Billie Jean King Cup and her squad finished fourth out of 15 countries.
 
"We are excited to add both Mariangel and Niyati," said ETSU Director of Tennis Ricky Rojas. "They will both be solid contributors for our team. Credit to Coach Bakhodirova for recognizing our needs and for putting a lot of work to get these players to ETSU."
 
ETSU is coming off a season where it went 14-9 overall and 6-1 in SoCon action. Three different Bucs garnered All-SoCon honors, and the team achieved its highest-ever ITA National Ranking (No. 58).
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's tennis, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's tennis tab.