NORFOLK, Va. – With the 2015 fall season just weeks away, the Norfolk State tennis programs have added four new players for the upcoming year and beyond, including three men’s players and one women’s player.
Freshmen Nico Lluch, Flavian Fernandez and Benedikt Henning will join the men’s side that lost all but two players from last year’s team. Freshman Marta Gomar will solidify a women’s squad that has four members of last year’s crew back for this season. All four newcomers are international players.
“We lost several outstanding seniors from both teams last year, and adding these four will help us to continue to grow our program over the next several years,” said head coach Worth Richardson. “They all bring a variety of talents to the court and will all be impact players for us.”
Lluch (Figueres) and Gomar (Valencia) both hail from Spain. Lluch (pronounced YOUK) earned a U-18 national top 85 ranking as well as a Spanish top 250 overall ranking. He also posted a top 25 regional ranking for the hotbed of Barcelona. Gomar, meanwhile, reached as high as No. 112 in the Spanish women’s overall rankings.
“Nico is an incredibly talented player with plenty of power and the ability to make a variety of shots,” said Richardson. “As he develops physically, he will have the skills to be a very dangerous collegiate player.
“Marta will prove to be a very tough opponent on the court as well,” Richardson continued. “She is a very good athlete and is very consistent in how she plays the game.”
Fernandez hails from Yerba Buena in Argentina, where he earned a national U-18 top 40 ranking. He was coached by former ATP player Patricio Arquez.
“Flavian brings a dangerous combination of size and character to the court,” Richardson commented. “He has been well coached over the years, and we are excited to watch him develop throughout his NSU career.”
Henning joins recent All-MEAC honorees Pascal Domnik and Daniel Grauel in NSU players who arrived from Germany. A native of Bad Hersfeld, Henning reached as high as No. 18 in the European Tennis Association U-16 rankings. He also posted a German top 20 U-18 ranking as well as a top 280 overall ranking for Germany.
“Benedikt has already had a great amount of success,” added Richardson. “However, he still has tremendous room for improvement, particularly with his serve and forehand. He is a very intelligent player and understands the court and percentages very well.”
Each Spartan tennis team currently has five players, with Richardson expected to add one or two more per team for the spring semester. The 2015 fall tennis schedule will be announced shortly.
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