MIAMI (June 14, 2016) – Head Coach Katarina Petrovic announced on Tuesday the addition of Mina Markovic and Gabriela Ferreira to the women's tennis program. They will be joining the program at the start of the fall semester.
 

Markovic, a transfer from the University of Houston, will enter the 2016-17 season as a junior. A native of Belgrade Serbia, Markovic compiled 22 singles wins during her two seasons with the Cougars. She played at both the No. 2 and No. 3 positions during the 2016 spring season. During her freshman campaign, Markovic helped Houston advance to the NCAA Tournament while setting a school record with 18-straight wins. Markovic was a 2014-15 American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team honoree.  Prior to her time at Houston, Markovic was a one of the top junior players in the world, as she was ranked as high as No. 128 in the ITF rankings. She has recorded 63 international combined wins (singles and doubles) in 16 different countries, including winning the championships in the ITF Grade 4 Montenegro Open in May of 2014.

 

Ferreira, who competed last season at Baylor, will enter the 2016-17 campaign as a sophomore. A native of Asuncion, Paraguay, Ferreira notched a 15-15 singles record with the Bears, seeing action at the No. 2, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 positions. Ferreira closed out her freshman year, winning seven-straight matches, including pair of victories in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. Named the Big 12 Honor Roll, Ferreira won 11 of her singles matches in dual action. Before enrolling at Baylor, Ferreira amassed 12 wins on the ITF Pro Circuit main draw, earning a ranking of No. 145 (ITF Juniors). She was ranked No. 828 in singles and No. 671 in doubles by the WTA.
 
Both Markovic and Ferreira will join incoming freshman Ulyana Grib as newcomers for the 2016-17 season. The Panthers are coming off one of their most-successful seasons in 15 years, winning 17 matches and recording a winning percentage of .850 (second-highest in school history). Advancing to the Conference USA championships match, FIU finished the year ranked No. 46 final Oracle/ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings.   
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.