CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rutgers tennis is set to compete in the UNC Charlotte Invitational on Friday, October 3, hosted at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. This tournament will go through the weekend, ending on Sunday, October 5.
The three-day event will feature four teams and play as a modified dual match tournament. Along with Rutgers and host school UNC Charlotte, the field will include Virginia Tech and Middle Tennessee.
Last Time Out
The Scarlet Knights competed at the Bulldog Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut, from September 19-21. RU played host school Yale on Friday, followed by Brown and Boston University on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Rutgers previously met Yale, Brown, and Boston University at Yale's Bulldog Invitational in September. Rutgers collected 14 wins in the event, including nine singles and five doubles victories. Returner
Zeynep Ilker was perfect in her doubles play, going 3-for-3 over the weekend. She paired with freshman
Stella Schmitz twice and
Zuzanna Frankowska once.
Naomi Karki picked up two singles wins out of her three matches.
Regional Recognition
On top of the three regional rankings, the ITA also honored
Mai Nguyen as the "Most Improved Player" in the Northeast.
Ahead of the spring 2025 season, transfer student
Zuzanna Frankowska was named to the Big Ten Women's Tennis Players to Watch list. This honor is limited to one representative of each program in the conference.
New Kids on the Banks
In the offseason, head coach
Hilary Ritchie welcomed three newcomers to the team, including freshmen
Miranda Case,
Savannah Cohen, and
Stella Schmitz.
Case hails from Haddonfield, New Jersey, and attended Haddonfield Memorial High School. Previous career highlights include 2022 L5 Open G16s doubles Champion and 2022 L4 Closed G16s doubles Finalist. Her history with Rutgers goes back to 1997, as her mother, Kristin, played tennis for the Knights till 2001.
Cohen comes from Westfield, New Jersey, and attended Westfield High School. She earned a 40-10 record in her two years of high school tennis. She won the Union County singles tournament as a sophomore and was named to the NJSIAA All Group-IV First Team and All-State Third Team. Last spring, Cohen finished second at a Level 2 National USTA tournament, garnering a 5-star status from Tennis Recruiting, as well as a national rank of 47 in the class of 2025.
Schmitz calls Kaiserslautern, Germany, home and attended Kaiserslautern High School. She is a four-time state champion and has earned multiple high finishes in ITF singles and doubles competition, along with a top-10 national German ranking. Her father, Frank, was a German professional tennis player on the ATP tour for 10 years.
The team is changing beyond new members, too. Assistant coach
Noah Lilienthal has taken on a bigger role this season, and he and Ritchie are already collaborating on some team-wide goals.
The Returners
Rutgers also brings back a strong core, including key returners such as
Zuzanna Frankowska,
Zeynep Ilker, and
Karina Jumazhanova.
Last season, Frankowska earned an overall singles record of 16-13 and a tournament record of 10-3. She also achieved a doubles record of 6-4 in the fall. Ilker ended spring 2025 with an overall record of 13-8 and an 8-3 fall record. Jumazhanova finished last season with a 12-10 overall singles record and a 5-7 singles dual record.
Naomi Karki will continue to be in the lineup for the Scarlet Knights after finishing her sophomore campaign with an overall doubles record of 16-14, along with 10-8 dual and 6-6 tour doubles records. Similarly,
Mai Nguyen will be returning after ending her junior campaign with an overall doubles record of 15-13 and a 10-8 dual doubles record.
Looking Ahead
Rutgers will have a quick turnaround after the UNC Charlotte Invitational, when they play in the ITA Regionals in Philadelphia, Pa., from Oct. 9-14.
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