Junior Sophie Schouten competing in the first round of the Milwaukee Classic on Sept. 27. | Courtesy of Houston Athletics.
In early September, Houston women’s tennis began its fall slate, which has featured tournaments, across the country.
Here’s a look at how the new look Cougars performed under new head coach Katrina Adamovic:
H-E-B Invite
The Cougars began their fall season with the H-E-B Invite in Waco, Texas, from Sept. 20-22. The team had a successful opening day, achieving three singles and three doubles victories. In doubles play, the Cougars won all three matches, securing three out of four singles wins.
Houston’s juniors Gabriela Cortes and Sophie Schouten set the tone with a 6-4 victory over SMU’s graduate student Arianna Stavropoulos and sophomore Caroline McGinley. Their impressive performance continued in the semifinals, dominating Rice’s sophomore Nithesa Selvaraj and senior Saara Orav with a 6-1 scoreline.
UH sophomores Valeriia Krokhotina and Iva Sepa also started strong, advancing to the finals of the green bracket after defeating Colorado’s sophomore Willow Gretsch and freshman Lera Alexin, 7-5, following a bye in the first round.
In singles action, Schouten battled past UTSA’s junior Letizia Corsini, winning 3-6, 6-4 (10-8), while Krokhotina defeated sophomore Ekua Youri from UTSA, 6-4, 5-7 (10-6). Cortes capped the day with a hard-fought victory against SMU’s McGinley, finishing 4-6, 6-2 (10-5).
Milwaukee Classic
Following their success in Waco, the Cougars headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for the Milwaukee Classic from Sept. 27-29. The first day began with a standout performance by Krokhotina, who defeated Ole Miss’s senior Lucie Petruzelova at the Nicolet Tennis Center. After a close start to the match, Krokhotina clinched the win with a score of 6(7)-7, 7-6(8), 6-2.
In doubles, Krokhotina and Sepa faced a challenging match against Oklahoma’s freshman Gloriana Nahum and Emma Ghirardato, ultimately falling 6-1. Krokhotina’s singles victory was a bright spot for Houston as they faced stiff competition throughout this tournament. Other singles outcomes included Schouten’s tough match against senior Emily Tannenbaum (Navy), which ended 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 in favor of Tannenbaum, and Krokhotina’s later loss to sophomore Maeve Thornton (Tennessee), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
On the second day of the Milwaukee Classic, the Cougars rallied with three singles victories, advancing all three players to their respective bracket semifinals. Schouten triumphed over Wisconsin’s sophomore Ellison Reynoldson, 3-6, 6-0, 1-0(6), Krokhotina defeated Purdue’s freshman Ida Clement, 6-4, 1-6, 1-0(6), and Sepa secured a win against Purdue’s junior Fatima Gutierrez, 2-6, 7-5, 1-0(9).
ITA Texas Regional Championship
The Cougars tallied seven wins across the first two days of the ITA Texas Regional Championship. Houston’s senior Santa Strombacha advanced to the round of eight, and the Cougars doubles team of Nuutinen and Cortes advanced to the round of 16.
Santa defeated Incarnate Word’s graduate Sophia Franco Salcedo 7-6, 6-0. She went on to win a close match against TCU’s senior Tomi Main, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, to advance to the round of 16. Santa was dominant in the match against UTSA’s Youri, winning 6-1, 6-2. Santa’s hot streak ended in the round of eight against University of Texas’s senior Vivian Ovrootsky, where she lost 1-6, 2-6.
Houston’s Nuutinen and Cortes made a deep run of their own in this tournament. They defeated UT at Arlington’s senior Nika Novikova and freshman Maria Lucia Araoz 8-1 in the first round. In the round of 32, they continued their success by winning a close match against Texas State’s graduate Callie Creath and senior Kiana Graham 8-7. Nuutinen and Cortes’s run ended after being defeated in the round of 32 by Baylor’s junior Kennedy Gibbs and senior Cristina Tiglea 1-8
New leadership and talent
The Cougars are led by Adamovic, who is in her first year with Houston. With almost seven years of coaching experience across four different programs, Adamovic brings plenty of expertise to the team.
She began her coaching career as an assistant coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats women’s tennis team, leading them to the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament in 2018.
After three seasons at Cincinnati, she became an assistant coach for the Missouri Tigers in 2021. Adamovic helped lead the Tigers to their second-best SEC finish in program history.
In the fall of 2022, Adamovic took the head coaching job at Grand Canyon University, where she was very successful. Adamovic won the WAC Tournament and advanced to the NCAA tournament each year she coached for the Lopes. This was the first time in program history that Grand Canyon has advanced to two consecutive NCAA tournaments. At the end of the 2023-2024 season, Adamovic was selected as the 2024 WAC Coach of the Year.
Adamovic’s success was recognized nationally. In June 2024, she accepted Houston’s offer to become the program’s eighth head coach.
The Cougars have a new-look team this year as they only return two athletes, Cortes and Schouten, from their inaugural year in the Big 12 conference.
Adamovic brought four players from Grand Canyon University, including three Krokhotina, Morozova, Sepa and Santa. Adamovic added one more transfer to her 2024-2025 team with Nuutinen, who transferred from McNeese.
The coaching staff in Adamovic and assistant coach Giorgia Pozzan took advantage of the transfer portal this offseason, bringing in five transfers. The new-look Cougar team is also very young, with six out of its seven athletes eligible to return next year, including four sophomores.
Adamovic and Pozzan have done an outstanding job recruiting and setting a solid foundation for the program’s future. With a mixture of new talent from other programs and returning athletes, the team is set for success and an exciting future.
The Cougars will head next to Norman, Oklahoma for the W35 event on Oct. 28 and then travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, for the W15 tournament on Nov. 4.
The fall season will conclude at the Texas A&M Invite in College Station, Texas on Nov. 8-10, with many athletes aiming to finish the season at the NCAA Individual Championship in Waco from Nov. 19-24.
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“Houston fall tennis rewind: First glance at new look Coogs” was originally posted on The Cougar