Fall 2022: Competed in three tournaments and two matches…Had a singles record of 12-1 for the season…Started the season off at the Central Arkansas Tournament going 3-0…Defeated Elizabeth Mintusova (SLU) 6-7, 6-4, 10-8, and dominated Lindenwoods Nawal Cheema 6-0, 6-2 at the Saint Louis Invitational…At the Redhawk Invitational went 2-0 with wins over Western Illinois’s Paige Grice 6-2, 6-0 and rolled over Southern Indiana’s Rachel McCorkle 6-1, 6-1…At 2022 ITA Division I Women's Central Regional Championships received an automatic spot in the Championship Main Draw, in the first round defeated Madalena Andrade (Bradley), 6-3, 6-0 and fought her way past Carmen Roxana Manu (Kansas), 6-4, 1-6, 7-5 in the round of 64s. Finished the weekend going 2-1…Ended the season strong going 3-0 at the Illinois State tournament…Posted a doubles record of 9-5…Played with Trinity Calinescu (1-2), Vivian Lai (3-0), and Lera Valeeva (5-3)...Opened up the doubles season going 1-2 at the Central Arkansas tournament…Traveled to St. Charles, Mo to compete in the Saint Louis Invitational where she was partnered with Vivian Lai going 2-0 with wins over Sandra Gines and Mya Spencer (SLU) 7-5 and a win against Lindenwoods Juilana Kulczynski and Alina Jensterle 6-0…At the home match was paired up with Vivian Lai going 1-0 and Lera Valeeva going 3-0…Defeated Nebraska-Omaha’s Zoe Adkins and Keegan VanPelt 8-6 at the ITA Central Regional Championships, ending the tournament going 1-1…At the Illinois State tournament went 2-1 rolling past Iva Stejskalova and Alice Shields (Milwaukee) 6-3 and getting a win over Tijana Zlatanovic and Tara Damnjanovic 7-5 with her partner Lera Valeeva.
Spring 2022: Selected to the 2022 All-OVC First Team for her third career All-OVC First Team… Tabbed the OVC Tennis Player of the Week on April 5 and earned OVC Doubles Team of the Week with Ksenia Shikanova on March 22…At the top singles position, posted a 4-3 singles mark in OVC matches…Registered an 8-9 singles record exclusively at the No. 1 slot in 2022…Has a career singles mark of 35-25 at SEMO…Combined with Ksenia Shikanova for a 7-5 doubles record (2-2 OVC) at the first flight…Also played doubles with Myroslava Zelenchuk (2-4)…Rallied off three-straight non-conference singles wins over Central Arkansas, William Woods and Bradley from Feb. 19 to March 5…Opened league competition with four-consecutive victories over Eastern Illinois, SIUE, UT Martin and Tennessee State from March 25 to April 8…Overcame EIU’s (3/25) Rachel Papavasilopoulos, 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0, in the battle of the top two preseason OVC players in 2022…Also had wins over SIUE’s (3/29) Jordan Schifano (6-2, 6-1), Jule Streif (6-1, 6-2) of UT Martin (4/2) and Tennessee State’s (4/8) Franka Sindicic (6-2, 6-2)…Fell to the 2022 OVC Co-Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, Gina Feistel, of Belmont (4/9), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6…Took on #15 Stanford’s (5/6) #26 Connie Ma (4-6, 1-4 unfinished), the 2022 ITA Rookie of the Year, in the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament…Notched six-straight doubles victories with Shikanova from March 9 to April 9 including non-conference wins over Arkansas State (3/9), Western Carolina (3/13), Montreat College (3/14) and Gardner-Webb (3/17)…Also had OVC victories over UT Martin’s (4/2) Sina Albersmeier and Jule Streif (6-4) and Belmont’s (4/9) Gina Feistel and Meredith Roberts (6-4) during that span…Fell to #15 Stanford’s (5/6) #19-ranked Connie Ma and Angelica Blake, 6-2, with Shikanova in the First Round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Fall 2021: Competed in five tournaments during the fall…Posted a 9-4 singles mark and a 5-3 doubles record during fall competition…Defeated UT Martin’s Julie Streif (6-2, 6-4) at Austin Peay’s Fall Tournament (9/17-18...Lost to Austin Peay’s Danielle Morris (6-3, 4-6, 10-12), UCA’s Chunxi Xin (7-6, 0-6, 5-10) and Missouri State’s Tiffini Nash (4-6, 5-7) all at the UCA Fall Tournament…Went on a six match win streak from Oct. 10 through Oct. 24…Recorded four victories (two singles, two doubles) the Redhawks home hidden dual (10/10) securing singles victories over Elizabeth Mintusova (SLU, 6-0, 6-1) and UTM’s Julie Streif (6-3, 6-1)…At the ITA Central Regional Championship (10/21-24) defeated Isabel Adrover Gallego (Nebraska 7-6, 6-4) and Martina Zerulo (Okla. State 7-5, 2-6, 6-3) to advance to the quarterfinals of the main draw…Fell to top seed Thasaporn Naklo (Iowa State) 1-6, 1-6…Beat both Peyton Lee (Belmont, 6-2, 6-3) and Annika Pschorr (Murray State, 6-4, 5-7, 6-3) to conclude fall tournament play at the Murray State Invitational (11/5-6)…In three doubles matches at the UCA Fall Invitational Tarajova and Teona Velkoska went 1-2…Dropped matches against NSU (1-6) and Louisiana Tech (4-6)…Secured victory over Missouri State by a final mark of 6-3…Defeated SLU’s Stefan/Barlow (6-0) and UTM’s Espinal/Sakurai 6-4…Ended the fall with consecutive wins with Myroslava Zelenchuk over Belmont and Murray State at the Murray State Invitational (11/5-6).
Spring 2021: Named the 2021 OVC Women's Player of the Year and earned 2021 All-OVC First Team honors…First-ever OVC Player of the Year in SEMO tennis history…Was fourth on the Redhawks in 2021 with a 11-6 singles record…Posted a 7-5 mark including a 5-2 record in league play at the top slot…Also notched a 4-1 mark at the second singles position…Opened the season with a 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 victory over Mizzou’s (1/24) Elys Ventura at the second slot…Went on a five-match singles win streak at the top position from March 8 (William Woods) to April 2 (Austin Peay)…Beat Fabienne Schmidt of Austin Peay (April 2), the 2021 OVC Preseason Top Player, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, during that stretch…In the 2021 OVC Championship Finals against #2 Austin Peay (4/25), fell to Fabienne Schmidt, 3-6, 6-0, 4-6…Registered a 12-6 doubles mark…Fashioned an 11-3 mark and 6-0 record in OVC play with Kseniya Zonova at the top doubles position…Also played with fellow countrywomen Daniela Hlacikova (1-3) at the first (0-1) and second (1-2) slots…Opened the season with a 6-4 win with Hlacikova over Mizzou’s (1/24) Elys Ventura and Valentina Vazquez at no. 2 doubles…Won eight straight doubles matches with Zonova at the top spot from March 8 (William Woods) to April 17 (Eastern Illinois)… In the 2021 OVC Championship Finals against #2 Austin Peay (4/25), beat Fabienne Schmidt and Danielle Morris, 6-4, with Zonova…In the Semifinals against #4 Jacksonville State (4/24), dropped a 4-6 decision to Carolina Bulatovic and Malin Buechner...Named the OVC Women's Tennis Player of the Week on March 17.
Spring 2020 (Shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic): Fashioned a 3-5 dual singles record, playing at the first (1-2) and second (2-3) positions…Was second on the team with three singles dual wins…Posted first singles dual win of the season over Mariluz Rojo of Saint Louis (1/29, first), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2…Finished the season with back-to-back no. 2 victories over Missouri State (3/6, Anna Alons, 6-3, 6-4) and Kansas City (3/7,Michela Xibilia, 6-3, 6-2)…Led the Redhawks with a 4-5 dual doubles mark, competing at the top slot with Kseniya Zonova…Posted consecutive wins over Saint Louis (1/29, Cassie McKenzie & Ariana Rodriguez, 6-2) and Lipscomb (2/8, Kate Popova & Denise Buberl, 6-4)…Also had back-to-back victories at Bradley (2/28, Natalia Barbery & Sandra Maletin, 6-2)and Missouri State (3/6, Alye Darter & Ellie Burger, 6-3)…Named to the OVC Commissioner's Honor Roll…Garnered ITA Scholar-Athlete accolades.
Fall 2019: Competed in all five tournaments…Was second on the team with a 10-3 singles mark…In doubles, fashioned a 7-4 mark, playing with Kseniya Zonova (4-2) and Manuela Barriga (3-2)…Opened the fall with a runner-up finish at the Austin Peay Fall Invitational (9/13-14) in the flight 1 singles draw…Beat Belmont, Western Kentucky and Murray State on her way to the finals…Posted a five-match win streak from Sept. 27 to Oct. 17…Bounced back from a first match loss for back-to-back wins over Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State at the Central Arkansas Fall Invitational (9/27-28)…Notched two singles wins over William Woods (10/5)…Bested Nikol Dobrilova of the Big Ten's Purdue, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to open the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional Championship (10/17-19)…Closed out the tournament with a win over Butler…Captured the Flight 2 Doubles Championship at the Central Arkansas (UCA) Fall Invitational (9/28-29) with Barriga after three straight wins over Chattanooga, Louisiana Tech and Central Arkansas…Won pair of home doubles matches against William Woods (10/5) with Zonova…Fell to Purdue in the first round of the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championship (10/17-19) with Zonova.
Spring 2019: Named the OVC women's tennis Freshman of the Year and earned First-Team All-OVC honors…Third tennis player in Southeast history to win OVC Freshman of the Year and second in three seasons…Was second on the team with a 13-5 dual singles record at the top singles position…Notched a 5-3 mark in conference matches…Had four-match winning streaks two times in 2019…Named OVC Female Athlete of the Week on Feb. 27 after she posted a perfect 4-0 record in singles and doubles at Illinois State's Redbird Invitational (2/23-24)…Compiled four straight wins from Feb. 1-24 at Saint Louis (2/1), at Missouri State (2/17), against Toledo (2/23) and vs. Creighton (2/24)…Posted four consecutive conference victories from April 6-19 over Murray State (4/6), Tennessee State (4/11), at Jacksonville State (4/13) and against SIUE (4/19)…Triumphed over Belmont’s Peyton Lee, 6-4, 6-4 in no. 1 singles in the First Round of the OVC Championship (4/26)…Fashioned a 10-7 dual doubles record at no. 3 doubles, playing primarily with Manuela Barriga (9-5) and was 1-2 with Anais Emelie…Tallied a 4-2 OVC mark with Barriga (4-1) and Emelie (0-1)…Registered three-match win streaks with Barriga from Feb. 23 to March 4 and April 11-20…In the first win streak, earned victories over Toledo (2/23), Creighton (2/24) and Louisiana Tech (3/4)…Also had a three-match win streak in OVC play over Tennessee State (4/11), SIUE (4/19) and Eastern Illinois (4/20)...Named to the OVC Commissioner’s Honor Roll...Awarded ITA Scholar-Athlete honors.
Fall 2018: Competed in all four tournaments…Led the Redhawks in singles with seven wins (7-3) and doubles with seven wins (7-2)…Won two doubles tournaments with Manuela Barriga…Posted a five-match singles winning streak from Sept. 14-15 to Oct. 12-16…Advanced to the Flight B Singles Championship with two wins at the UCA Fall Invitational (9/20-22)…Defeated Missouri’s Taylor Gruber, 5-7, 6-2 (6-3), to advance to the 2018 ITA Central Regional (10/12-16) Round of 32s after earning a first round bye…Finished the fall with back-to-back singles wins over Missouri State at the Missouri State Fall Invitational (10/26-10/28)… Captured the Flight B Doubles Championship with Barriga at the UCA Fall Invitational (9/20-22) with wins over Oral Roberts, Arkansas State and Central Arkansas…Concluded the season with a three-match win streak in doubles with Barriga after taking the Missouri State Fall Invitational (10/26-10/28) Flight C Doubles Title.
Prep: Played tennis for five seasons at Gymnázium Pavla Országha Hviezdoslava in Dolný Kubín, Slovakia...Competed in the International Tennis Federation Women's Circuit...A singles tennis player with experience playing on both clay and hard surfaces.
Personal: Born on July 13, 1999…Daughter of Jaroslav Taraj and Antónia Tarajová...Majoring in Sport Management with a minor in Business Administration at SEMO.
