When senior Maria Siopacha arrived in Foggy Bottom her sophomore year after transferring from UMBC, women’s tennis was not a nationally recognizable program.
But over the past two seasons, Siopacha’s dominance on the court has attracted the attention of incoming recruits and high-caliber programs around the country.
Siopacha will be the first women’s tennis player to represent GW at the ITA Women’s All-American Championships this weekend after already competing as the first Colonial at the ITA Oracle Masters last weekend.
The senior will play in the pre-qualifying round of the ITA Women’s All-American Championships in Malibu, Calif. Saturday. The pre-qualifying level features 64 of the country’s premier collegiate players.
Each Division I head coach had the opportunity to nominate a player from their team to compete among the nation’s best, head coach Torrie Browning said. She said she nominated Siopacha because she knew she would be able to hold her own in the elite group.
“Sometimes you might get intimidated by the name or the conference,” Browning said. “I think what she’ll find is if she goes out there and competes hard, there’s a good chance she can compete in these draws.”
Last season, Siopacha owned a singles record of 19–9 – including an eight-match win streak to end the season – and played every match as the top-seeded player.
Browning said having someone on her roster that plays at Siopacha’s level has allowed GW to increase name recognition and secure better competition.
“Now we’re able to get higher-ranked recruits and play better schools within the region and nationally,” Browning said. “That’s the impact that she’s left.”
The pre-qualifying competition will be the second tournament this season in which Siopacha represents GW by herself.
Last weekend, Siopacha played at the Oracle ITA Masters at Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif. – an opportunity given to the top male and female player from each Division I conference in the nation.
Siopacha’s selection as the Atlantic 10 Co-Most Outstanding Player for the 2017-18 season slated her to compete as the conference’s representative.
“It’s a really big deal for me, but I know how hard I worked last year so I think I deserved the invite,” she said.
In the weeks leading up to the early-season tournament, Siopacha said she worked with her tennis coach in her home country of Cyprus on the depth of her ball placement and making more aggressive defensive plays.
Siopacha’s weekend at the ITA Masters began with mixed doubles, where she partnered with Dayton senior Jordan Benjamin, the A-10 Most Outstanding Player choice on the men’s side.
Despite their combined efforts, the pair fell 6–1 to a Big 12 duo comprised of Baylor senior Johannes Schretter and North Carolina junior Makenna Jones.
Siopacha then continued on to singles play, where she fell to the No. 9 seeded player, senior Lauren Proctor from Winthrop.
The loss to Procter was followed by a consolation match against Yidia Lanes Garcia of Austin Peay where Siopacha was bested 7–5, 1–6, 6–0 in a clash that went the distance.
“Sometimes you just have to be lucky, and I just think I wasn’t very lucky in this tournament,” Siopacha said. “It was a tough draw.”
After Siopacha returns from the tournament this weekend, the women’s team is slated to compete in six tournaments for the fall season.
Browning said since she took over the program in 2016, she has seen Siopacha put a lot of effort into bettering her fitness, spending more time in the weight room as well as on the court.
But as Siopacha begins her final year with the program, Browning said her star player’s personal growth over the past two seasons has been one of the most important elements of her success.
“It’s just been a total evolution of her,” Browning said. “It hasn’t just been the tennis. It’s been overall, on and off the court.”
