May 10, 2002

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. - Head women's tennis coach Jeffrey Bloomberg announced the signing of three incoming freshman to National Letter's of Intent this afternoon. Ralitsa (Raly) Hristova, Denisa Hluchova and Meghan Slenkamp have all accepted scholarship offers to play Division I tennis at Siena beginning in the fall.

Hristova, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is currently ranked #17 in Bulgaria and 197 in Europe by the International Tennis Federation. She was the top Bulgarian player in the 16-year-old division and recently ranked as high as #10 in her country among all women before dropping to her current ranking of 17. The loss of seven places is attributed to her inability to play in sanctioned tournaments due to her lack of finances. Hristova's country has had a difficult time since the fall of communism in 1991. Cut off from the rest of Europe by the fighting in the Balkans, the Bulgarian economy has struggled in its transition to capitalism. The average wage earner takes home $150 a month and the unemployment rate is very high. Hristova wants to return to Bulgaria after completing her studies at Siena to help her country and its people gain parity with the rest of Europe.

"Raly is a wonderful young woman and an outstanding tennis player," Bloomberg noted. "She has become fluent in English by attending a high school where all the subjects are taught in English, not Bulgarian and still has been able to maintain a 3.5 GPA. Her desire to succeed is very strong and it shows both on the tennis court and in the classroom. The Siena community and the tennis team feel very fortunate to have someone like Raly choose to make Siena her home for the next four years.

Bloomberg says that Hristova will need a little time to make the transition from Bulgaria and the clay courts she has grown up on to the United States and the hard courts used in collegiate tennis. "Once she is comfortable in her new surroundings Raly will bring a new level of play to the Siena program," he concluded.

A native of Piestsny, Slovak Republic, Denisa, who has been living in Glendale, Queens with her aunt and uncle for the past two years, has been a top performer on the tennis court while attending Fresh Meadows prep school. Her achievements include leading the team representing New York City to the Gold Medal at the 2001 Empire State Games by becoming the only tennis player to complete the games undefeated. Denisa also reached the singles finals of the 2001 New York State High School Consolation Championships as well as the quarterfinals of the New York City Mayor's Cup and was a key contributor to the 2000 St. Francis Prep team that won the Mayor's Cup Team Trophy.

"We are very excited to have Denisa come to Siena and be a part of our program," Bloomberg said. "She has the ability and desire necessary to reach great heights during her collegiate career. She is an impact player who will help us in our quest to capture the MAAC Championship and qualify for the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships that goes with it."

A New Jersey High School All-State selection, Slenkamp played #1 singles all four years while a student at Pitman High School (Pittman, N.J.). She finished her distinguished high school career with a record of 117 wins and only 15 losses. In her senior year she led her team to the Gloucester County Championship and a quarterfinal finish at the New Jersey State Championships. This feat earned her recognition as a Camden Courier Student-Athlete All-Star for the fall of 2001.

A member of the National Honor Society, Slenkamp also excels in the classroom and is ranked 15th in her graduating class. She expects to pursue a degree in business or communications while at Siena.

Slenkamp comes to a program that is shown much improvement over the last one and a half years. The women finished the 2001-02 year with nine wins, the most by the program in 11 years, and a 6-6 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) record, good enough for 5th place in the conference. Her addition will help the Saints continue their rise through the ranks of the MAAC.

"I'm really excited about Meghan joining our program," Bloomberg said. "She currently is sixth in New Jersey and recently won the USTA Middle States Summer Series Championship. Her work ethic is outstanding and she is very strong physically and mentally. She will fit well with the returning members of the team and I expect her to make a smooth transition from high school to college tennis."