DePaul University Athletics
Mitrea Biggest Winner in DePaul Women's Tennis History
4/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S TENNIS
CHICAGO - When Rebeca Mitrea made DePaul women's tennis history in February, the senior from Romania was having her way with a hostile environment in Downstate Champaign.
"They had a loud crowd cheering against us and holding up signs and banners after we missed a shot," Mitrea said about the match at Illinois. "That was fine with me. I kind of liked it because it pumped me up. Internally, it was like: 'I'm going to prove you wrong.'
"We had lost the doubles point and needed four singles wins to take the match. I was leading my whole match against an opponent who was very aggressive with a good, flat backhand. I tried to play to her forehand and move her around."
She succeeded to the tune of a 6-2, 6-4, victory over Jerricka Boone in helping the Blue Demons come away with a hard-fought, 4-3 decision.
"After I won in straight sets, I knew I had broken the record," Mitrea said. "My first reaction was: 'Wow, I did this---I can't believe it.' Then, I wanted us to get three more points and Jarret Fisher, Patricia Lancranjan and Yuliya Shupenia won their matches."
It was Mitrea's 106th career win, surpassing the previous all-time mark of 105 set by Nives (Milosevic) Horacek in 1999. Mitrea will head into the regular-season finale on Friday against Marquette with a record of 115-37.
"In our post-match huddle that day, Mark mentioned that I had broken the school record for career wins and my teammates started cheering," Mitrea said. "This was all because of so many other people, my current and former teammates and all those who came before them who helped make the program what it is today.
"It's because of those former players that we have the best gear and equipment and can travel to face the best competition. We get so much more than what they used to get, and they were the ones who made it possible."
Mitrea has no doubt who made the career record possible.
"I started playing when I was five years old, but I've played the best tennis of my career at DePaul," Mitrea said. "Coach Mark Ardizzone deserves all the credit. When I first got here, I did not know how to volley or play doubles. Now I love volleying and have become a good doubles player all because of Mark.
"Mark made me into a good tennis player. He put so much work into developing me. I was willing to learn and to try everything he told me."
Except the times when her coach told her to pack up and head home to Romania.
"It wasn't easy at first, and she felt my wrath the first couple of years," Ardizzone said. "There were times I told her she wasn't going to make it and to get ready to fly back home to Romania. When you watched her back then, you'd never think that someday she would be leading a nationally ranked Division I tennis team in wins. She is such a great kid to work with.
"Rebeca has a chance to win the Most Improved Player in the country award, and it comes from her absolute perseverance. Northwestern coach Claire Pollard said Rebeca is the most improved player she has ever seen in college tennis. Minnesota coach Chuck Merzbacher said she is at another level of doubles play, and it's like she knows what's going to happen before it happens.
"She has competed in the summertime and has put in a lot of work with me. I've never had a kid be such a sponge, soaking up so much. This is a player who couldn't play doubles as a freshman and is now one of the 40 best doubles players in the country.
"Rebeca doesn't have the best serve and doesn't make the greatest shots. What she does have is absolute tenacity, and that trumps everything else."
Winning matches has come to define her. She has become such a consistent point producer that Ardizzone tagged her with a special description.
"My nickname for her is 'The Rock' because she is like the rock of our team," Ardizzone said. "She goes out and picks up a point every day. I never worry about her."
In addition to the career record for singles wins, Mitrea is DePaul's all-time leader in overall wins (singles and doubles) with 215.
"Her numbers are off the charts, and it's because of a steady improvement from her freshman year," Ardizzone said. "It comes from just not being satisfied with her success. Rebeca would tell you her second serve is one of the worst.
"But instead of crying about it, she works around it. It means being aggressive and taking chances at the right times. She is very fast and uses her speed to keep balls in. Of all the players I've had in my program, she is one of the two hardest workers along with Kelsey Lawson. They're both kids who couldn't rely on natural ability alone."
There have been many long hours spent practicing and maximizing her assets.
"I have learned to overcome my soft second serve by being very fast and being ready to move left or right immediately because I know my opponent will attack," Mitrea said. "It has taken a lot of work and many individual practices.
"I'm very competitive, always wanting to get better. The better I got the more matches I won and the more my team could count on me. It's the best feeling when I know my team can count on me.
"I was devastated when Mark told me I should go back home to Romania. Then I realized he said it to push me to my limits. That's when I decided to prove him wrong."
The team captain has embraced Ardizzone's tough love.
"She has taught herself to be stronger," Ardizzone said. "At the juniors level, she would give up and quit on herself. She'd get emotional and always let the little things bother her. She is so emotionally tough now and wants to win every day. She never takes a day off.
"No doubles players ever had the willingness to do all the things others won't like Selma Salkovic and Rebeca. She overcame a broken ankle her sophomore year that forced her to miss the entire spring season. She was out three weeks with a broken wrist as a junior."
Mitrea's most magical moment came last May when the Blue Demons beat Kentucky 4-1 for the first NCAA tournament victory in program history. It was 1-1 when Mitrea, Lancranjan and Jasmin Kling notched successive singles wins.
"The moment Jasmin won, it was just amazing with so much happiness," Mitrea said. "That means way more to me than breaking the record because it was a team thing."
It will be a memorable moment for the Blue Demon coach at Friday's Senior Night ceremony when DePaul plays Marquette in its final regular-season and home match. Mitrea and classmates Jarret Fisher and Zaina Sufi will be honored.
"Rebeca is our captain who leads by example and is a caring young woman who absolutely loves DePaul," Ardizzone said. "I'm not the kind of guy who usually gets all emotional, but after all that we've been through and seeing her growth and development as a tennis player and a person---I can honestly say I am going to miss her."
Mitrea wants the rest of her final season to proceed in slow motion.
"I don't want to think about it because I can't imagine my life without being a part of this team," Mitrea said. "Even the medical redshirt year I was injured, everyone still made me feel like an important part of the team. It's really hard to let go so suddenly.
"I'm going to attend graduate school here and want to be involved with the team as much as I can. That will help ease the transition.
"Mark's impact has been so tremendous. I could not have come here without him. I'd probably be at some other school in the middle of nowhere. He was way more to me than just a coach.
"We have a very good relationship, and I am going to keep it that way. We will always be close and he will always be a part of my life."
