2008 Woodie Awards
Women's tennis back on the Stanislaus scene
By: Dustin Alkema
Issue date: 5/21/08 Section: Sports
Spring is not going to be the only season for love around California State University, Stanislaus.
CSU Stanislaus is resurrecting woman's tennis in fall of 2008 and will be starting completely from scratch with new coaches, players and refinished courts.
The sport is being brought back after being discontinued due to state budget cuts in 1991 to benefit the Athletic Department's goals of expanding opportunities for students to play sports, as well as, the over all interest of the school.
Assistant Athletic Director Kim Duyst has announced that women's tennis is being brought back to promote equity in the school, while helping the school stand correctly with state mandated gender equality rules.
Though the previous CSU Stanislaus tennis program was coed, the new one will be exclusively for women athletes to help balance the 66 percent female student population ratio in accordance with Title IX.
As of October 2007, Verek Visaraga is the new head coach who is expected to use an extensive background in the sport to help build a competitive team.
"Verek is a very nice man that has a solid background with the school," Duyst said. "He was a member of the last tennis team in 1991 and a Stanislaus graduate in 1992."
Visaraga has been associated with a professional level of tennis for 18 years playing at the collegiate level, working as a tennis pro at Brenda Athletic Health Club and acting as head coach of the Turlock High School Bulldogs' coed tennis program, whose girls won another conference and Division 1 title during his final season with the team in 2007.
Visaraga is recruiting players to help build the program.
"The recruiting process is busy work," Visaraga said. "Today I will be heading out to Arizona to speak to a player and coaches, then I will be headed to Long Beach to look at another.
"There are pros and cons to starting a new program rather than taking one over," he said. "You get to apply your ideas and start where you want, but you have to find a whole team of talented recruits rather than only finding one or two during the off season of an existing program."
The program will need 10 female athletes to make a team. As of right now, seven women are signed with scholarships. The top eight players will receive scholarships and one or two positions will be available for walk-on players at the beginning of the season.
Fundraisers and benefits are planned to help get the program going for those who are interested in providing support. One event to promote the program is "Cocktails at the Pond," scheduled for June 22, in which is sponsored by Gallo Wines, Brenda Athletic Health Club and others.
For more information about this event the women's tennis program, contact Visaraga at (209) 620-4689, or vpvisaraga@csustan.edu.
CSU Stanislaus is resurrecting woman's tennis in fall of 2008 and will be starting completely from scratch with new coaches, players and refinished courts.
The sport is being brought back after being discontinued due to state budget cuts in 1991 to benefit the Athletic Department's goals of expanding opportunities for students to play sports, as well as, the over all interest of the school.
Assistant Athletic Director Kim Duyst has announced that women's tennis is being brought back to promote equity in the school, while helping the school stand correctly with state mandated gender equality rules.
Though the previous CSU Stanislaus tennis program was coed, the new one will be exclusively for women athletes to help balance the 66 percent female student population ratio in accordance with Title IX.
As of October 2007, Verek Visaraga is the new head coach who is expected to use an extensive background in the sport to help build a competitive team.
"Verek is a very nice man that has a solid background with the school," Duyst said. "He was a member of the last tennis team in 1991 and a Stanislaus graduate in 1992."
Visaraga has been associated with a professional level of tennis for 18 years playing at the collegiate level, working as a tennis pro at Brenda Athletic Health Club and acting as head coach of the Turlock High School Bulldogs' coed tennis program, whose girls won another conference and Division 1 title during his final season with the team in 2007.
Visaraga is recruiting players to help build the program.
"The recruiting process is busy work," Visaraga said. "Today I will be heading out to Arizona to speak to a player and coaches, then I will be headed to Long Beach to look at another.
"There are pros and cons to starting a new program rather than taking one over," he said. "You get to apply your ideas and start where you want, but you have to find a whole team of talented recruits rather than only finding one or two during the off season of an existing program."
The program will need 10 female athletes to make a team. As of right now, seven women are signed with scholarships. The top eight players will receive scholarships and one or two positions will be available for walk-on players at the beginning of the season.
Fundraisers and benefits are planned to help get the program going for those who are interested in providing support. One event to promote the program is "Cocktails at the Pond," scheduled for June 22, in which is sponsored by Gallo Wines, Brenda Athletic Health Club and others.
For more information about this event the women's tennis program, contact Visaraga at (209) 620-4689, or vpvisaraga@csustan.edu.
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