Two Wildcat Tennis Players Appear in Final ITA Rankings

Niedermayerova and Bonacic finish season among national rankings

June 7, 2012

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The final rankings for the 2012 women’s tennis season were announced on Thursday by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) and a pair of K-State student-athletes appeared in the singles and doubles polls.

Representing the Wildcats in the rankings were sophomore Petra Niedermayerova and juniorKarla Bonacic. After earning ITA All-American status by reaching the round of 16 at the NCAA Division I Women’s Singles Championships last week, Niedermayerova checked in at No. 26 in the final ITA national singles rankings and as the top player in the ITA Central Region rankings. This was the second straight season Niedermayerova has finished as the top ranked player in the Central Region. Niedermayerova will be the top ranked player returning for the 2012-13 season within the Big 12.

Niedermayerova became the third ITA All-American in the program’s history. She joins Karina Kuregian (1994) and Yana Dorodnova (1998) as the only ITA All-Americans in K-State history. Niedermayerova added her ITA All-American honor to a number of honors this season including: All-Big 12 honors in both singles and doubles, Capital One Academic All-District VII At-Large Team honors and Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors.

For the 2011-12 season, Niedermayerova finished with an overall record of 24-13 (.649) including a 9-12 mark against ranked opponents. The product of Brno, Czech Republic, tied her career-high for wins in a season and is tied for fourth in school history for wins in a season.

For her career, Niedermayerova is 48-23 (.676) including a 16-14 mark against ITA ranked foes. Niedermayerova’s career singles winning percentage of .676 ranks third in school history. With 15 wins in the 2012-13 season, Niedermayerova will tie for sixth in school history for career victories.

Bonacic checked in at No. 102 in the final ITA national singles rankings and is ranked No. 9 in the ITA Central Region rankings. She garnered her first career national ranking prior to the start of the 2012 dual match season, checking in at No. 94 in the nation and No. 7 in the Central Region rankings. Bonacic never fell out of the rankings during the 2012 spring slate and she reached a new career-high ranking of No. 65 after a straight set win over No. 22 Maho Kowase of Georgia.

Earning her first career All-Big 12 citation this season in singles player, Bonacic set the pace for the Wildcats’ on the court this season. The native of Split, Croatia, tallied a career-high 22-9 record in the 2011-12 season including a team-leading 7-2 effort in Big 12 action from the number two position in the singles lineup.

Bonacic was strong this spring, as she finished tied for the team lead with a 16-5 mark in dual matches including a five-match winning streak to close out the season. Dating back to the final three matches of 2010, Bonacic has won 35 of her last 42 dual matches and owns a career record of 43-14 in dual match play.

For her career, Bonacic has a 55-33 (.625) career record and is 38-28 in straight set matches. With eight more singles wins, Bonacic will move into a tie for sixth on the K-State career singles wins list. Bonacic’s career singles winning percentage of .625 currently ranks sixth in school history.

K-State’s number one doubles tandem of Niedermayerova and Bonacic completed the season in the ITA national doubles rankings, checking in at No. 66. The duo earned All-Big 12 honors from the league’s coaches at the conclusion of the 2012 spring season. Together, they finished with a 5-8 overall record and a 4-5 mark in Big 12 action.