marshall thundering herd 2018 women s tennis media guide

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1 i am because... we are #herdfamily marshall thundering herd 2018 women s tennis media guide

2 roster/quick facts Name Year Hometown/High School/Previous School Marija Bogicevic Sr. Belgrade, Serbia/Medical School of Belgrade Brooke Lashway So. Bradenton, Fla/IMG Academy/South Florida Ana Marhuenda Fr. Almería, Spain/Club de Tennis El Ejido Maddie Silver Sr. East Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids HS Anna Smith Fr. Venetia, Pa./Pennsylvania Cyber HS Stephanie Smith Sr. Venetia, Pa./Pennsylvania Cyber HS/Indiana Head Coach: John Mercer (16th Season) Assistant Coach: Jason Winegar (First Season) Notable Statistics overall record 1-1 record in Conference USA Earned No. 3 seed at Conference USA Tournament Reached Quarterfinals of C-USA Tournament Five All-Conference singles selections One All-Conference doubles selection One all-academic Conference USA selection Eight Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll selections (whole team) Defeated four Power Five conference opponents (Penn State, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia Tech) University Information Location: Huntington, W.Va. Founded: 1837 Enrollment: 14,000 Nickname: Thundering Herd Colors: Green and White Conference: Conference USA Home Courts: Brian David Fox Tennis Center Huntington Tennis Club President: Dr. Jerry Gilbert Director of Athletics: Mike Hamrick Assoc. AD/Chief of Staff: Jeff O Malley Assoc. AD/Finance: David Steele Assoc. AD/SWA: Beatrice Crane Banford Assoc. AD/Facilities: Scott Morehouse Assoc. AD/External Affairs: Aaron Goebbel Assoc. AD/Media Relations: Jason Corriher Assoc. AD/Big Green: John Sutherland Tennis Information Head Coach: John Mercer (15th Season) Alma Mater: Penn State 85 Texas 88 Record at Marshall: (.646) Overall Record: Same Assistant Coach: Anik Cepeda (Second Season) 2017 Record: Conference USA Record: Postseason: W, 4-1 vs. UTEP L, 4-3 vs. WKU Returners/Lost: 3/5 Sports Information Women s Tennis SID: Kieran Intemann Office Phone: n/a Cell Phone: (980) intemann@marshall.edu Website: herdzone.com Address: 1801 Third Avenue 2035 Cam Henderson Center Huntington, W.Va Follow Herd Tennis Marshall University Athletics HerdZone HerdZone

3 conference usa/schedule Conference USA begins its 23nd year in as it continues to compete and promote the success of its student-athletes. The league has adapted to the ever-changing landscape of collegiate athletics over its first two-plus decades, but the commitment to excellence, integrity, leadership and its student athletes in competition, academics and community is unwavering. Conference USA enjoys a far-reaching fan base with its 14 members: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA and WKU. Debuting in 1995, Conference USA teams have combined for 100 bowl appearances in football, 105 NCAA Tournament appearances in basketball, including three Final Fours, 69 NCAA baseball appearances including six College World Series berths, 86 NCAA soccer tournament appearances including four trips to the College Cup, and 36 individual national champions in track and field and cross country. Success is not limited to athletic achievement, however, as 207 Conference USA student-athletes have garnered Academic All-America honors, 722 have achieved academic all-district laurels and thousands of student-athletes have earned a college degree. Conference USA sponsors competition in 19 sports nine for men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and indoor and outdoor track and field) and 10 for women (basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, and volleyball). The league promotes the scholar-athlete ideal, honoring outstanding academic achievement with numerous conference-sponsored awards, including the Commissioner s Honor Roll and the Commissioner s Academic Medal as well as sport-specific All-Academic teams. C-USA annually awards postgraduate scholarships, along with the Sport Academic Awards, Scholar-Athletes of the Year and the Institutional Academic Excellence Award. Additionally, Conference USA presents a Spirit of Service Award three times each year, recognizing student-athletes who excel on the field, in the classroom and give back to the community through significant service efforts and participation. Date Event/Opponent Time (ET) Sept South Carolina Fall Invitational 1 All Day Oct. 6-8 Wake Forest Invitational 2 All Day Oct ITA Atlantic Regional Championship 3 All Day Nov. 1-5 ITA National Fall Championships 4 All Day Nov. 3-5 CofC Classic 5 All Day Jan. 27 Louisiana-Monroe 6 Noon Jan. 28 Cal State Fullerton 6 10 a.m. Feb. 3 at Minnesota 7 3 p.m. Feb. 4 DePaul 7 1 p.m. Feb. 9 Virginia Tech 4 p.m. Feb. 11 at Penn State 11 a.m. Feb. 16 at Louisville 3 p.m. Feb. 17 at Miami (Ohio) 2 p.m. Feb. 24 FIU 8 * Noon Feb. 25 at North Texas* Noon Mar. 2 Cinicnnati 4 p.m. Mar. 3 Old Dominion* 1 p.m. Mar. 5 VCU 11 a.m. Mar. 10 at Navy 10 a.m. Mar. 11 at Maryland Noon Mar. 22 at UNLV 1 p.m. Mar. 23 Denver 9 1 p.m. Mar. 31 West Virginia Noon Mar. 31 West Virginia State 4 p.m. Apr. 7 at Middle Tennessee* 4 p.m. Apr. 12 Liberty TBA Apr. 14 at Winthrop 9 a.m. Apr. 15 at Georgia State 9 a.m. Apr Conference USA Tournament 10 All Day 1 - at Columbia, S.C. (hosted by South Carolina) 2 - at Winston-Salem, N.C. (hosted by Wake Forest) 3 - at Blacksburg, Va. (hosted by Virginia Tech/ITA) 4 - at Indian Wells, Calif. (hosted by Indian Wells Tennis Garden) 5 - at Charleston, S.C. (hosted by College of Charleston) 6 - ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Gainesville, Fla. (hosted by Florida) 7 - Courtside Classic at Minneapolis, Minn. (hosted by Minnesota) 8 - at Denton, Texas 9 - at Las Vegas, Nev at Norfolk, Va. (hosted by Old Dominion) Home matches are in BOLD Conference USA Matches are indicated by *

4 head coach John Mercer head coach - 16th season This season John Mercer begins his 31st year coaching at the NCAA Division I level and his 16th at the helm of the Thundering Herd tennis team. Last season, the Herd went in the spring season and fell in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament against WKU. The Herd has won at least 10 matches in every season since Mercer took over in 2003 and has never held a winning percentage below.500 during Mercer's tenure. Marshall has made at least the quarterfinals in every season since Mercer took over. Mercer helped turn around the career of Derya Turhan, who won 55 singles matches in her final two years with the Herd and was named Conference USA Player of the Year in Turhan won 54 matches in her first two seasons and improved that mark to 93 wins over her final two seasons with the help of Mercer. Turhan was the second Conference USA Player of the Year that Mercer has coached, joining former Herd assistant Kellie Schmitt, who won the award three times. In the season, Mercer helped the team improve by three wins from the previous season, finishing at overall. The Herd had five players named All-Conference for singles for the second time in the last three seasons. Derya Turhan earned First Team honors for the third straight season. All three seniors (Turhan, Rachael Morales and Anna Pomyatinskaya) earned All-Conference singles honors in all four years. The Herd reached its highest mark in the rankings since 2011 when it was ranked No. 37 by ITA. In the season, the Herd endured its worst mark since Mercer took over, finishing at overall and reaching the quarterfinals of the Conference USA tournament before falling to Old Dominion. Derya Turhan was named Conference USA Player of the Year after the season and made All-Conference USA First Team for singles and doubles. In the season, the Herd went in the spring season and lost in the Championship round of the Conference USA tournament against No. 30 Rice. The championship appearance was the first time the Herd reached the championship match of the tournament since 2010 and the fourth time since joining Conference USA prior to the campaign. Marshall finished the 2015 spring season being nationally ranked at No. 52 by ITA. Mercer has an overall record of as Marshall head coach. That record equates to a.651 winning percentage as of May 2017, the second highest mark in Marshall history. With each win he obtains, Mercer will continue to add to his total as the winningest coach in Marshall tennis history. Over a span of years from to , Mercer has steadily improved The Herd s win totals as it went in , 14-8 in and in In both the 2013 and 2014 spring seasons, Marshall finished in the second round of the Conference USA tournament by losing to ranked Tulsa. During the campaign, Mercer led the team to an undefeated home record while advancing to the C-USA quarterfinals. During the campaign Mercer led Marshall to an impressive 18-6 record and a peak of No. 34 in the ITA national rankings. It was a year that also saw him lead the doubles duo of Dominika Zaprazna and Michaela Kissell to an undefeated regular season and an NCAA Tournament berth. Mercer and the Herd embarked on a campaign that rewrote the Marshall record books. The team finished the season with an overall mark of 19-7, while hitting its highest national ranking in program history at No. 28. Marshall's 11-0 record to begin the 2010 season was the best start in program history, and Mercer guided the Herd to the C-USA title match and 2011 National Team Indoor Championships that year. Mercer also saw two of his players (Michaela Kissell and Dominika Zaprazna) compete in the NCAA Tournament. Mercer took over the head coaching duties in 2003 and led the team to a 19-8 record in his first season and a school best 22-5 mark in Marshall took home the Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament championships in both 2003 and 2004, earning Mercer the MAC Coach of the Year award for both seasons. In the 2005 season, Mercer guided the Thundering Herd to its fourth consecutive MAC Tournament Title and NCAA appearance as the squad finished 19-8, and he was named the ITA East Region Head Coach of the Year. Before taking on the role of head coach, Mercer became the assistant coach at Marshall in , joining his wife Laurie, the head coach at the time. While an assistant, Mercer helped build the program into a perennial MAC power and a force to be reckoned with on the national scene. During his time as the assistant, Mercer helped lead Marshall to its first ever Southern Conference regular season and tournament championship in After the team switched to the Mid-American Conference in 1998, Marshall was able to capture its first conference regular season championship in 2000 and its first tournament championship in In 2001, Mercer was named ITA East Region assistant coach of the year and was one of eight finalists for the national award. Mercer played his collegiate tennis at Penn State University, where he was an Academic All-Conference selection. He graduated from Penn State in 1985 and served the next season as the Nittany Lion's assistant men's coach. Following his stint with Penn State, Mercer served as an assistant men's coach for the nationally-ranked University of Texas. While there, his teams consistently finished in the top-10 of the rankings, and Mercer was able to complete his master's degree in exercise physiology in After a successful career at Texas, Mercer went on to join West Virginia University, where he served as the assistant men's tennis coach for six years, winning five Atlantic-10 regular season titles and appearing in two NCAA tournaments when only 20 teams were invited annually. In addition, the Mountaineers finished ranked in the top-25 for two seasons and in the top-50 for three seasons during his tenure. During his career, Mercer has coached 11 All-Americans and coached in 14 NCAA Championships. Mercer also has experience at the professional level, as he traveled for two years coaching on the ATP Tour and held an ATP doubles ranking in Other awards for Mercer include the 2001 East Regional Assistant Coach of the Year, being named a USPTA P1 professional, the USPTA/Middle States "Rookie Pro of the Year" award in 1991, and a combination with his father, Don Mercer, to form the number one father-son doubles team in the Middle States Tennis Association. Mercer comes from a tennis family. In 2001, the Dr. Donald Mercer family was named "Family of the Year" for the Middle States. He has two brothers, Tom, who was an All-American at TCU and was ranked in the top-100 in doubles and top-300 in singles on the ATP pro tour, and Ron Mercer, who also played at Texas and West Virginia held an ATP singles and doubles ranking. Mercer is married to the former Laurie Johnson and has three children: daughter Cassie, born February 25, 1996, son John Jeremiah, born July 16, 2000, son Andrew Jacob, born June 7, 2005, and daughter Samantha Mercer, born July 21, 2010.

5 Marija bogicevic senior - belgrade, serbia Medical School of Belgrade AS A JUNIOR (2017) Had a singles record of 0-2, losing both matches at the No. 6 position Went 2-3 in doubles matches, playing primarily with Derya Turhan at the No. 3 position Named to the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll AS A SOPHOMORE (2016) Had a 7-12 singles record played the Nos. 4, 5 and 6 spots at No. 4, went 1-2 at No. 5, went 4-10 at No. 6, went 2-0 held a 6-13 doubles record, playing primarily with Anne Gulsrud at the No. 3 spot named to the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll. AS A FRESHMAN (2015) Collected a 4-20 record...played the Nos. 4 and 5 spots mainly...at No. 4, went At No. 5, went Bogicevic by the Numbers Singles Spring (.000) Fall (.500) Spring (.368) Fall (.200) Spring (.167) Fall (.250) OVERALL (.275) Bogicevic by the Numbers Doubles Spring (.400) Fall (.571) Spring (.316) Fall (.077) Spring (.435) Fall (.400) OVERALL (.351)

6 Maddie silver senior - east grand rapids, mich. East Grand Rapids HS AS A JUNIOR (2017) Compiled 26 overall singles wins, a mark that ranks in the top 20 for a single season in Marshall history Named to the All-Conference USA Singles Second Team Was second on the team with a 15-6 mark in singles play during dual matches, playing primarily at the Nos. 2 and 3 spots Spent most of the season at the No. 3 spot, where she compiled a record of 11-4 Won nine consecutive singles matches from January 21 to March 5 defeated five opponents from Power Five conferences during the span of nine straight wins (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Louisville and West Virginia) Rallied to defeat then-no. 52 Caroline Daxhelet of Virginia Tech in three sets, the highest-ranked win in her career Won matches against Old Dominion in the regular season and WKU in the Conference USA tournament Won her flight at the College of Charleston Classic in November Went 9-9 in doubles play, playing primarily with Rachael Morales at the No. 2 position Went 2-2 with Anna Pomyatinskaya at the No. 1 position, including a win over Conference USA opponent Old Dominion Defeated opponents from Kentucky, Minnesota and Penn State in doubles matches Named to the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll AS A SOPHOMORE (2016) Collected a 9-10 singles record, including wins over No. 29 Rice, No. 45 Virginia Tech and Yale played the Nos. 3 and 4 spots at No. 3, went 4-4 at No. 4, went 5-6 had a 14-6 doubles record, playing primarily with Rachael Morales and Anna Pomyatinskaya at the No. 2 spot went 10-0 in doubles play when teamed with Rachael Morales named to the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll AS A FRESHMAN (2015) Was named to the 2015 All-Conference USA singles second team...collected a 16-9 record...played the Nos. 2 and 3 spots...at No. 2, went At No. 3, went Came up with key victories against No. 38 Depaul, No. 52 William and Mary and No. 66 Old Dominion...Posted personal best five-match winning streak...finished with a 15-8 mark in doubles play with Rachael Morales... Was named to Conference USA Honor Roll. PRIOR TO MARSHALL Played for four years at East Grand Rapids High School...finished junior career ranked 49th in the country on TennisRecruiting.com... recepient of USTA Sportsmanship Award during junior career PERSONAL Parents are Lee and Julia Silver... has one sister, Ellen, who played tennis for the University of Iowa. Silver by the Numbers Singles Spring (.714) Fall (.733) Spring (.474) Fall (.167) Spring (.640) Fall (.556) OVERALL (.600) Silver by the Numbers Doubles Spring (.529) Fall (.125) Spring (.700) Fall (.429) Spring (.652) Fall (.500) OVERALL (.566)

7 stephanie smith senior - venetia, pa. Pennsylvania cyber HS/indiana AS A JUNIOR (2017) Named to the All-Conference USA Singles Second Team in her first season with the Herd after transferring from Indiana Compiled a 13-6 singles record in dual match play, playing primarily at the No. 2 position At No. 2, compiled a 10-5 record At No. 3, went 3-1 Won her first four singles matches for the Herd Won six consecutive matches from February 19 to March 18, including a pair of wins over regionally ranked opponents Defeated opponents from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, West Virginia and Maryland Compiled a team-best 14-6 doubles record, playing primarily at the No. 3 spot with Daniela Dankanych Defeated opponents from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Louisville, Penn State and Maryland Defeated Savannah Durkin and Katherine Ip of then-no. 37 Rice in the regular season finale Named to the Conference USA Commissioner s Honor Roll AS A SOPHOMORE ( at Indiana) Compiled a 13-7 overall dual match singles record, playing mostly at the No. 4 spot Compiled a 9-2 record in Big Ten play Was 15-5 overall in doubles competition Was 6-3 in Big Ten doubles play. AS A FRESHMAN ( at Indiana) Compiled a 15-8 overall singles record, playing primarily at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots Held a 7-3 record in Big Ten play Was 23-8 overall in doubles competition Went 4-3 in Big Ten doubles play, playing primarily at the No. 3 spot. HIGH SCHOOL Five-star recruit and listed as the 40th best player in the nation by tennisrecruiting.net Was the 2012 Pennsylvania high school state doubles champion Reached the quarterfinals of the 2013 National Clay Court Championship... Was a two-time US Open Sectional Qualifying champion. PERSONAL Parents are MaryAnne Kruppa and Gary Smith Has one sister, Anna, a freshman for the Herd Mother was a gymnast at Bowling Green Majoring in Sports Marketing and Management. Smith by the Numbers Singles Spring (.684) Fall (.500) Spring 2016 (at Indiana) 13-7 (.650) Fall 2015 (at Indiana) 1-1 (.500) Spring 2015 (at Indiana) 11-6 (.647) Fall 2014 (at Indiana) 4-2 (.667) OVERALL (.632) Smith by the Numbers Doubles Spring (.700) Fall (.750) Spring 2016 (at Indiana) 12-5 (.706) Fall 2015 (at Indiana) 3-0 (1.000) Spring 2015 (at Indiana) 15-4 (.789) Fall 2014 (at Indiana) 8-4 (.667) OVERALL (.735)

8 brooke lashway sophomore - bradenton, fla. img academy/south florida AS A FRESHMAN ( at South Florida) Held an overall singles record of Compiled a singles record of 3-2 in dual match play, playing primarily at the No. 6 spot... Went 3-1 at the No.6 spot... Lost her only match at the No. 5 spot... Reached the final of the Bedford Cup in October... Held an overall doubles record of Compiled a doubles record of 6-4 in dual match play, playing with three different partners... Was 5-2 at the No. 3 position... Went 2-1 at the No. 2 position Lashway by the Numbers Singles Spring 2017 (at South Florida) 3-2 (.600) Fall 2016 (at South Florida) 3-3 (.500) OVERALL 6-5 (.545) Lashway by the Numbers Doubles Spring 2017 (at South Florida) 7-4 (.636) Fall 2016 (at South Florida) 1-1 (.500) OVERALL 8-5 (.615)

9 Ana marhuenda freshman - almeria, spain club de tennis el ejido PRIOR TO MARSHALL Played for Club de Tennis El Ejido, where she was a five-time regional club champion in Andalucía Two-time regional champion in Andalucía Two-time regional finalist in Andalucía Finalist in the under-16 Mutua Madrid Open Finalist in the National Young Promises Open in Spain.

10 Anna smith freshman - venetia, pa. pennsylvania cyber hs PRIOR TO MARSHALL Four-star recruit ranked 51st in the national recruiting rankings No. 2 recruit in the state of Pennsylvania Collected seven wins over blue chip and five-star prospects during her senior year Doubles quarterfinalist at the Canadian Junior ITF tournament Doubles finalist at the USTA National L3 tournament Won the backdraw of the USTA National L3 PERSONAL Parents are MaryAnne and Gary Smith Mother was a gymnast at Bowling Green Has one sister, Stephanie, who is a senior for the Herd

11 2017 season statistics Marshall University Tennis Marshall Season Statistics (Through matches of Apr 21, 2017) Overall record: C-USA: 1-1 Region: 5-3 Home: 8-5 Away: 4-4 Neutral: 2-1 vs National ranked: 0-3 vs Regional ranked: 0-0 vs ranked Last SINGLES Overall Dual Tour C-USA Nat'l Reg'l Strk 10 Marija Bogicevic L2 0-2 Daniela Dankanych W1 3-4 Rachael Morales W2 6-2 Nikola Novackova L1 2-3 Anna Pomyatinskaya L1 5-5 Maddie Silver W1 5-3 Stephanie Smith L2 5-4 Derya Turhan L1 8-1 Totals Percentage vs ranked Last DOUBLES TEAMS Overall Dual Tour C-USA Nat'l Reg'l Strk 10 Anna Pomyatinskaya/Derya Turhan L1 6-4 Rachael Morales/Maddie Silver L2 4-6 Daniela Dankanych/Stephanie Smith W4 8-2 Anna Pomyatinskaya/Maddie Silver L1 2-2 Rachael Morales/Stephanie Smith L1 3-1 Marija Bogicevic/Derya Turhan L2 2-2 Marija Bogicevic/Maddie Silver L1 0-1 Stephanie Smith/Derya Turhan L1 0-1 Daniela Dankanych/Rachael Morales L1 0-1 Totals Percentage Date Opponent Score Overall C-USA Nation Region Jan 15, 2017 EASTERN MICHIGAN W Jan 18, 2017 #20 KENTUCKY L Jan 21, 2017 WISCONSIN W Jan 28, 2017 MINNESOTA W Feb 03, 2017 at Cincinnati W % Feb 10, 2017 at VCU L % Feb 12, 2017 at Virginia Tech W Feb 17, 2017 LOUISVILLE L % Feb 19, 2017 at West Virginia L % Feb 24, 2017 PENN STATE W #37 Feb 26, 2017 COLUMBIA L #37 Mar 03, 2017 WINTHROP W Mar 05, 2017 MIAMI UNIVERSITY W % Mar 11, 2017 #38 MARYLAND L #48 % Mar 18, 2017 vs James Madison W %* Mar 19, 2017 at Old Dominion W Mar 21, 2017 at Col. of Charleston L Mar 23, 2017 vs Clemson L Apr 02, 2017 at Eastern Kentucky University W % Apr 02, 2017 WEST VIRGINIA STATE W Apr 08, 2017 vs University of South Florida W * 4/9/2017 at #37 Rice L Apr 20, 2017 NO. 14 UTEP W Apr 21, 2017 NO. 6 WKU L