Lady Saint Maria Aveiga heads to DI UTEP for tennis

LIBERAL, Kan. -- Lady Saint Maria Aveiga has signed with Division I University of Texas at El Paso to continue her tennis career in the fall.

Aveiga had a very successful run during her two years at Seward County Community College. As a freshman, Aveiga was Region VI champion in both singles and doubles at the No. 2 spot. She also finished fifth place in No. 2 singles in the NJCAA National Tournament. She finished her freshman year with a 10-6 record in singles and a 14-5 record in doubles.

In her sophomore campaign, Aveiga racked up even more accolades by going 21-11 in singles and 20-7 in doubles. In the fall, she took eighth place at the ITA National Tournament in singles while also finishing fifth at the same tournament in doubles. Aveiga and Patricia Panta were the first pair of Lady Saints to make an appearance at the ITA National Tournament.

Aveiga kept it rolling in the spring by coming away with two more Region VI titles at No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles. Her success continued with a third-place finish at the NJCAA National Tourney in those spots. Aveiga finished her Seward career with a combined record of 31-17 in singles and 34-12 in doubles.

Aveiga will join a UTEP team, which finished 7-14 last year and competes in Conference USA.