SAN RAFAEL, Calif. —
Alex Poorta, who was the 2011 West Coast Conference Player of the Year at St. Mary's College and upset the No. 1 ranked college player in the country last January, has been named assistant coach for women's tennis at Dominican University of California, Head Coach
Greg Kennett announced today.
A native of Amsterdam, Poorta was a three-time all-WCC player at St. Mary's and the first Gaels player to be named conference player of the year and invited to the NCAA Singles Championships. She finished the 2011 season with an 8-0 record in WCC singles matches and was 14-7 overall, including a victory over top-ranked Jana Juricova of Cal on Jan. 23 in the final day of the Cal Winter Invitational.
“We definitely feel lucky to have her,” said Kennett, who coached Poorta as a freshman at St. Mary's. “She is a great addition to our program and brings a lot of great qualities to it. Tremendous accomplishments. Good energy. Very positive. She will be a great role model for our players and she can work with them on their fitness.”
Poorta, who is a certified fitness trainer, continues to play competitively. She plans to play club tennis professionally this summer in Germany and Holland. She was the third-ranked Dutch player in her country as an 18-year-old and was among the Top 20 in seniors.
“I have been fortunate to have great coaches in my past and I want these players at Dominican to get the same coaching experience as I did,” Poorta said. “I'm very excited to be a part of this program and I want to contribute as much as I can to get this team to a higher level.”
The Dominican women's tennis team opens its 2012 season on Saturday, Feb. 4, in Rohnert Park against Sonoma State.
