Women’s Tennis Adds Nikolopoulou
4/18/2018 9:28:00 AM | Women's Tennis
RALEIGH – Natalia Nikolopoulou has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the NC State women's tennis team for the 2018-19 season, as announced by head coach Simon Earnshaw Wednesday.
"Sometimes you come across recruits by chance, and that happened with Natalia when I met her former Coach Stavros Michalopoulos at a day camp I worked in Richmond last summer," said Earnshaw. "Stavros mentioned to me that there were several recruits back in Greece potentially looking at College Tennis and that Natalia could be a good fit at NC State. I could tell from our initial communication that Natalia had a level of drive and intensity to more than match the recommendation and that she would be someone who could thrive in the culture we are building. Natalia's approach to her game and the enthusiasm she showed about everything moving forward showed a level of buy in that really resonated with me. There's an intensity and physicality to her game that I look for, that will translate well to our system and to hard courts. The way this worked out is one of those situations where it all came together quickly and we couldn't be more excited to have Natalia join the program in the Fall. I'm very confident she's going to have an incredible impact on everyone in the program and at NC State . Go Pack!"
Bio
Natalia is from Athens, Greece and is the daughter of Elena Kyrozi and Dimitris Nikolopoulos. She has two brothers Philippe and Alexander. Natalia's current coach is Alexandros Jakpovic and she has previously worked with Tasos Bavelas and Stavros Michalopoulos. Her main interests are water skiing, rollerblading and ice skating. She also enjoys cooking especially desserts, spending time with her friends and going to the movies. Natalia will enroll at NC State in the Fall of 2018.
Tennis Background
Why She Chose NC State
"Many reasons influenced my decision to attend NC State," said Nikolopoulou. "First of all, the coaches make me feel welcome and appreciated. They seem experts in what they do and I feel they will help me develop my game and reach my potential. NC State has outstanding facilities. I also liked that apart from tennis I will be highly educated in this university and participate in an organized program. Raleigh, North Carolina, sounds like an exciting place to live in my college years."
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
"Sometimes you come across recruits by chance, and that happened with Natalia when I met her former Coach Stavros Michalopoulos at a day camp I worked in Richmond last summer," said Earnshaw. "Stavros mentioned to me that there were several recruits back in Greece potentially looking at College Tennis and that Natalia could be a good fit at NC State. I could tell from our initial communication that Natalia had a level of drive and intensity to more than match the recommendation and that she would be someone who could thrive in the culture we are building. Natalia's approach to her game and the enthusiasm she showed about everything moving forward showed a level of buy in that really resonated with me. There's an intensity and physicality to her game that I look for, that will translate well to our system and to hard courts. The way this worked out is one of those situations where it all came together quickly and we couldn't be more excited to have Natalia join the program in the Fall. I'm very confident she's going to have an incredible impact on everyone in the program and at NC State . Go Pack!"
Bio
Natalia is from Athens, Greece and is the daughter of Elena Kyrozi and Dimitris Nikolopoulos. She has two brothers Philippe and Alexander. Natalia's current coach is Alexandros Jakpovic and she has previously worked with Tasos Bavelas and Stavros Michalopoulos. Her main interests are water skiing, rollerblading and ice skating. She also enjoys cooking especially desserts, spending time with her friends and going to the movies. Natalia will enroll at NC State in the Fall of 2018.
Tennis Background
- Left handed
- WTA Singles Ranking: 1207
- Current Greek National Women's Ranking: 7
- Career High Greek National Junior Ranking: 1
- Has always been ranked top-three in her age group in Greece
- Qualified and played in several ITF Women's events in singles and doubles in 2017 & 2018 including Heraklion (Crete), Jounieh (Lebanon), and Istanbul (Turkey)
- Winner of Greek National Doubles Championship in 2016
- Quarter-Finalist in Greek Women's National Championship in 2017
- Five-time Finalist in Greek Junior National Championships (2012-2017)
- Member of Greek National Junior Team at European Summer Cups in 2014, 2016, & 2017
- Competed in European Junior Championships in 2014
- Represented Greece at European Youth Olympic Festival in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2015
- Winner of several singles and doubles National Junior Tournaments in Greece
Why She Chose NC State
"Many reasons influenced my decision to attend NC State," said Nikolopoulou. "First of all, the coaches make me feel welcome and appreciated. They seem experts in what they do and I feel they will help me develop my game and reach my potential. NC State has outstanding facilities. I also liked that apart from tennis I will be highly educated in this university and participate in an organized program. Raleigh, North Carolina, sounds like an exciting place to live in my college years."
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
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