Women's Tennis July 21, 2015

Soule Announces Incoming Class

Three standouts join Panther tennis

MILWAUKEE – A trio of standouts will join the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee tennis program this fall, head coach Maddy Soule announced today.

Maria "Masha" Lobanova (Adelaide, South Australia, Australia) and Laurie Clark (Greater Manchester, United Kingdom) have both signed their national letters of intent and will join the Panthers this fall. Meanwhile, Labina Petrovska transfers to UWM after one season at Western Michigan University and will be eligible to play immediately as a sophomore.

"I'm very excited about all three of these young ladies joining our team starting this fall," Soule said. "All three exemplify the goals we strive for in this program, both academically and on the court. I'm very excited to start working with all three this fall."

Lobanova comes to Milwaukee from Adalaide, Australia. She is ranked 14^th in the state of South Australia and has climbed up to 185^th in the entire country. She represented her state in the Pizzey Cup National Championship in 2013 and has won numerous doubles tournaments, winning the consolation draws in 2015.

Lobanova also excels in the classroom. In 2014 she earned the outstanding academic achievement award to go along with the academic excellence in science-psychology award, given to the top student in the subject.

"I am thrilled to have found such a dynamic addition to the team," Soule said. "Masha possesses all the qualities UWM Athletics aims to portray, including outstanding academics and an extremely high level of tennis. Her tennis game will fit in nicely with our squad as she naturally plays a style that I believe is most successful in developing at the college level. She is also the first player from Australia in our program and will add to the already growing diversity of the team."

Clark will join UWM from Greater Manchester, United Kingdom. The high school star won a gold medal earlier this year at the National British College Championships in women's tennis doubles. She also competed in the Ladies and U-18 Country Cups this year, winning all of her matches in Ladies and also finishing high in U-18. Clark has won numerous regional tournaments and has competed in several national events and British Tours, reaching the quarterfinals in her two most recent British Tours.

Additionally, Clark also has excelled in the classroom; earning high marks in all of her courses, helping make her the runner-up for the 2015 Winstanley College Sports Person of the Year.

"Laurie is a very enthusiastic and kind young woman who will bring much positivity and strong work ethic to our team," Soule said. "I believe she will fit in perfectly based on her high-energy, fast-pace, aggressive style of play and ambition to continually grow as a player. I am very excited for Laurie to get to campus, as I know she will enjoy the university, program and competition.

Petrovska will join the Panthers after spending her first collegiate season at Western Michigan. The Birmingham, Mich. native posted a 15-14 record in singles play with the Broncos last season, including 13 wins in straight sets.

Petrovska was the eighth-ranked recruit in the state of Michigan in high school and helped Birmingham Seaholm to a pair of team state titles. She also posted a 4.3 grade point average in high school and earned the Outstanding Senior Athlete and American Association of University Women awards following her senior year.

"I believe Labina, having a year of college experience under her belt, will prove to be exemplary for the other incomers," Soule said. "She is a very ambitious and determined individual who I know will only continue to improve drastically with the conducive environment our athletes train in. Aside from her tennis, she has achieved the highest success in the classroom and will only add to the emphasis on high academic achievement on this team. In getting to know her, she seems to be a very team-oriented, selfless person who will fit well with the dynamic and values of UWM tennis."

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