The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) has announced its preseason national rankings, and the Penn women’s tennis program is represented in both singles and doubles. Junior Iuliia Bryzgalova is ranked 14th in singles, while the doubles pair of Bryzgalova and senior Marija Curnic are ranked 38th in doubles.
Enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences, Bryzgalova was having an excellent 2019-20 season before it was canceled in March because of the coronavirus. In fall 2019, she was a quarterfinalist at the Oracle ITA Fall National Championships and a finalist at the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships. She rose to as high as No. 10 nationally in the ITA rankings, the highest ever by a Penn player, and ended the season 25-4 overall with a 7-4 record against ranked opponents.
A native of Moscow, Russia, Bryzgalova was the unanimous Ivy League Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year as a freshman, First-Team All-Ivy in singles, and Second-Team All-Ivy in doubles.
Bryzgalova and Curnic went 20-6 in doubles in 2019-20 and ended last season ranked 39th nationally by the ITA. The duo won the ITA Northeast Regional title and qualified for the Oracle ITA Fall National Championships, then reached the main draw of the Saint Francis Health System ITA All-American Championships.
From Split, Croatia, Curnic, also enrolled in the College, was a First-Team All-Ivy doubles player as a sophomore, with a 23-9 record, including 13-4 in dual matches at No. 1.
