NEWARK, N.J.\u00a0\u2014 The Rutgers women’s tennis team\u00a0will open the 2026 spring season\u00a0at Princeton\u00a0on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 12 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Live streaming and live stats will be available for the match.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Time Out\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rutgers\u00a0tennis\u00a0fell at Princeton in its season opener,\u00a05-2, on Saturday,\u00a0Jan. 24.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Scarlet Knights won the doubles point, with wins on the first two courts, before the\u00a0Tigers won four singles matches to clinch the win.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Frankowska was the lone Scarlet Knight to come out on top in\u00a0singles play, defeating Isabella\u00a0Chhiv\u00a0on the second court\u00a0in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Player to Watch\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In early January,\u00a0Karina Jumazhanova<\/a>\u00a0was named a Big Ten Player to Watch.\u00a0She will look to build off a solid\u00a0rookie\u00a0performance in her sophomore campaign.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Last spring,\u00a0went\u00a05-7 in singles playing at the No. 3 and No. 4 spots. She accumulated a 4-1 record playing on the fourth court.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition,\u00a0Jumazhanova\u00a0recorded a 6-9 doubles record, including a 5-2 mark on the third court.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n New Kids on the Banks\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In the offseason, head coach\u00a0Hilary Ritchie<\/a>\u00a0welcomed three newcomers to the team, including\u00a0freshmen\u00a0Miranda Case<\/a>,\u00a0Savannah Cohen<\/a>, and\u00a0Stella Schmitz<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Case hails from Haddonfield, New Jersey, and attended Haddonfield Memorial High School.\u00a0Previous\u00a0career highlights include 2022 L5 Open G16s doubles Champion and 2022 L4 Closed G16s doubles Finalist. Her history with Rutgers goes back to 1997, as her mother, Kristin, played tennis for the Knights till 2001.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Cohen comes from Westfield, New Jersey, and attended Westfield High School\u00a0where she\u00a0earned a 40-10 record in her two years. She won the Union County singles tournament as a sophomore and was named to the NJSIAA All Group-IV First Team and All-State Third Team.\u00a0Last spring, Cohen finished second at a Level 2 National USTA tournament, garnering a 5-star status from Tennis Recruiting, as well as a national rank of 47 in the class of 2025.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Schmitz calls Kaiserslautern, Germany, home and attended Kaiserslautern High School. She is a four-time state champion and has earned multiple high finishes in ITF singles and doubles competition, along with a\u00a0top-10\u00a0national German ranking. Her father, Frank, was a German professional tennis player on the ATP tour for 10 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The team is changing beyond new members, too. Assistant coach\u00a0Noah Lilienthal<\/a>\u00a0has taken on a bigger role this season, and he and Ritchie are already collaborating on some team-wide goals.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Returners\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Rutgers also brings back a strong core, including key returners such as\u00a0Zuzanna Frankowska<\/a>,\u00a0Zeynep Ilker<\/a>, and\u00a0Karina Jumazhanova<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Last season, Frankowska earned an overall singles record of\u00a016-13, including a 6-10 mark in the fall at the No. 2 spot.\u00a0Ilker ended spring 2025 with an overall record of 13-8, picking up victories on the last three courts.\u00a0\u00a0Jumazhanova\u00a0finished last season with a 12-10 overall singles record.\u00a0<\/p>\n Naomi Karki<\/a>\u00a0will continue to be in the lineup for the Scarlet Knights after finishing her sophomore campaign with\u00a0an overall doubles\u00a0record of 16-14, along with 10-8 dual and 6-6 tour doubles records. Similarly,\u00a0Mai Nguyen<\/a>\u00a0will be returning after ending her junior campaign with\u00a0an overall doubles\u00a0record of 15-13 and a 10-8 dual doubles record.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Looking\u00a0Ahead\u00a0<\/p>\n Rutgers will host Delaware in its official home opener on Friday, Feb. 6 at 12 p.m.\u00a0at the East Brunswick Racquet Club.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Follow Along\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Follow Rutgers women’s tennis on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n