Women's Tennis Signs Two for 2008-09
11/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
CHICAGO DePaul women’s tennis coach Mark Ardizzone announced the signing of two student-athletes to a National Letter of Intent this week. Gia McKnight of Chicago joins Mirna Cicak of Zagreb, Croatia in the freshman class of 2008-09.
As co-captain at Morgan Park High School, McKnight led her team to four Chicago Public League Championships while winning the CPL singles title in 2005 and 2007. She is a four-time IHSA State Championship qualifier who placed fifth in singles at the 2007 Championship and finished seventh at the 2005 Championship. She earned All-State honors in 2005 and 2007.
This summer saw McKnight compete at the USTA Midwest Open Championship in Columbus, Indiana. She won the doubles title for her age group and finished third in singles play. McKnight holds the No. 3 ranking in Illinois for her class and is a two-time winner of the USTA Midwest Sportsmanship Award.
“We are very fortunate to have Gia join our program,” Ardizzone said. “She is a great player and an excellent student. We are so happy to keep one of Chicago’s top players close to home.”
Cicak competes in tournaments across Europe and is currently ranked No. 933 in the WTA world doubles rankings. Her club team won the 2007 Croatian Championship and this summer she competed alongside DePaul junior Dunja Antunovic. Cicak reached the semifinal round of singles play at a recent European Tennis Association tournament in Montenegro. She is a cousin of Ivan Vujic, Director of Operations for the DePaul men’s basketball team.
“Mirna is an outstanding athlete who will become a big part of our program over the next few years,” Ardizzone said. “She uses a very aggressive style on clay courts which will give her an advantage when she begins to play on hard courts.”
The Blue Demons return to action on Friday, January 11 at the Northwestern Wildcat Invitational in Evanston, Illinois.