After a successful 2020-2021 season, the San Jose State tennis team is eager to return to the court in January.
Spartan Tennis Complex, located at the univerity’s South Campus, will host the Sacramento State Hornets in the season opener on Jan. 29, 2022.
The Spartans secured their spot as conference champions in the 2021 Mountain West Women’s Tennis Championship and now hope to bring another trophy to SJSU in the upcoming spring season.
This year they brought home the title for the first time since 2017, with an 8-1 record in Mountain West and a 15-1 record overall.
The team started its preseason with a few tournaments, including the most recent Nov. 5-7 Hidden Dual tournament co-hosted by SJSU and Santa Clara University at the Spartan Tennis Complex.
Sophomore and second year athlete Jovana Babic was a key player in the dual tournament, winning her match 2-0.
Babic also holds titles as an Academic All-Mountain West honoree, Mountain West Scholar-Athlete and Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athlete.
A promising mix of new and returning athletes, including first-time player Oleksandra Andrieieva and third year athlete Lara Marco Mas played in the tournament, leaving head coach Chad Skorupka eager for the upcoming season.
Skorupka joined the team in 2013 as assistant coach and assumed his current position in 2015. He said the team not only thrives on the court but they are also making it a point to be successful in the classroom as well.
“We've had a number of it, [Intercollegiate Tennis Association] All-Americans, [Intercollegiate Tennis Association] All-Academic Team…but also just within the athletic department, a lot of success,” Skorupka said in a Zoom call.
He said the team has grown since the previous season because he’s also recruited internationally.
Skorupka said the biggest challenge in recruiting was traveling to Europe shortly before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
“[I was] discussing with my assistant one day I said ‘Hey, look, I better get out of here before shit shuts down, something's gonna happen,’ so the first week of March, I booked a trip for recruiting,” Skorupka said.
Babic was recruited from Belgrade, Serbia and came to SJSU in 2020 as a freshman.
“I joined last year on [Aug. 20] but because of COVID my freshman year in the fall, I was back home [Serbia],” Babic said. “So technically, I came to SJSU January this year.”
Skorupka said he didn’t mind lengthy trips and long hours to find top tennis talent.
“We're a very international sport and I’m going to try to attract the best players that we can find from wherever,” Skorupka said.
After being recruited from Sofia, Bulgaria in 2019, third year player Rozalina Youseva said she is happy for the opportunity to live out her dreams as a tennis player in the U.S. and to earn a degree at SJSU.
Youseva said she wanted to capitalize on her goals by coming to college not only for a spot on the SJSU tennis team, but also to further her post-college career goals.
“I really wanted to find the best place for me, because I also want to stay in the states after I graduate, so I wanted to find a school not only for my college experience, but also for my future,” Youseva said. ”So I saw San Jose State and the head coach Skorupka convinced me to come and when I came here, I just fell in love with the team and the school.”
Youseva said she has high hopes for the upcoming season.
“We're going to try to win the conference again, I think we have a great team and we're ready,” Youseva said.
