NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion women’s tennis head coach Dom Manilla announced the addition of Victoria "Tori" Olivarez (Virginia Beach, Va.) and Yulia Starodubtseva (Kakhovka, Ukraine) to the 2017-18 roster on Thursday afternoon. Olivarez will have one year of eligibility remaining after spending her first two seasons at Tennessee and her junior season at Virginia, while Starodubtseva joins Monarch Nation as a freshman.
“The women's tennis staff at Old Dominion is second to none,” said Manilla. “I'm proud of the continued efforts made by Associate Head Coach, Toni Bickford. I am especially thankful for the extra work required from Mike Gibbs and the entire compliance staff to cut through red tape to make our recruiting list this year a reality. Our women's tennis program is committed to continuing the excellent recruiting track record we have established here at Old Dominion University.”
Victoria "Tori" Olivarez (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial High School)
Height: 5’5
Manilla on Olivarez:
“Welcoming Tori home to finish her career at Old Dominion will be special for her and for the Hampton Roads tennis community. Tori and I have had many conversations about how playing at home in front of her family and friends will be a great motivating factor for her to complete her already impressive collegiate career on a high note. Tori is excited to compete as a Monarch.”
Junior Year at Virginia (2015-16)
-Went 17-16 in singles, playing in slots 2-5.
-Took down No. 41 nationally ranked Ilinca Stoica of Virginia Tech in straight sets (6-1, 7-5).
Sophomore Year at Tennessee (2014-2015)
-Won the singles title in the Tennessee Fall Invite that included a 7-5, 3-6, 1-0 (4) victory over No. 120 Sandy Niehaus of Ohio State.
-Finished with a team best record in singles of 8-3 for the fall.
-Defeated Georgia's Hannah King, who was ranked No. 55 in singles, 6-3, 6-3 for her first conference win of the season.
-Career singles record of 38-28 and doubles record of 28-28.
Freshman Year at Tennessee (2013-14)
-Closed the season out with a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Maryna Kozachenko of Georgia State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Juniors/High School
-2012 Virginia State High School runner-up (AAA).
-Member of the 2011 state championship team (AAA).
-Member of the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.
-No. 1 recruit in Virginia as a senior in 2013 and No. 36 nationally by TennisRecruiting.net.
-Finished her high school career with a 58-5 singles record and 57-1 doubles record.
Yulia Starodubtseva (Kakhovka, Ukraine)
Height: 5'8
Manilla on Starodubtseva:
“Yulia's success on the international circuit as well as being the Ukrainian National Champion indicates that she will have a successful tenure at here at ODU, as well as becoming one of Conference USA's top players. Yulia is familiar with players that are already part of our program and she understands the attitude and commitment it is going to take for us to bring home the Conference USA trophy.”
Achievements
-2016 Ukraine National Champion (adult division).
-Three-time Ukraine National Champion in doubles and two-time champ in mixed doubles.
-"Master of Sport" in Ukraine since 2014.
-Multiple title winner in Ukrainian Junior Championships (under age 14, 16 and 18).
-Junior ITF G2 doubles winner - Chisinau, Moldova 2017.
-Junior ITF G5 singles finalist - Bosnia/Herzegovina 2016.
-Participated in ITF pro-circuit events since the age of 15 and currently holds WTA ranking of 1090.
Olivarez and Starodubtseva join Louie McLelland (Stirling, Scotland) to cap off ODU women’s tennis 2017-18 recruiting class. To read more on McLelland, please CLICK HERE.
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