SAN ANTONIO — The rapid ascent of the St. Mary's women's tennis program — ranked 28th nationally and climbing — has been a team doing.
From No. 1 through No. 6 in the lineup, the Lady Rattlers have bonded together to try to state their claim for a potential spot in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional that looms in the weeks ahead.
But while it's taken a collective effort to get St. Mary's to this spot, one individual has risen to achieve particular acclaim.
Mariana Rong once again has been named the Heartland Conference's Women's Tennis Player of the Week, marking the fifth time in six weeks and the sixth time overall that she has received the award this spring.
Rong (So., Jinan, China), a graduate of O'Connor High School in Helotes, Texas, improved to 18-0 in singles play this spring following big wins in the No. 1 slot against No. 18 Cameron and No. 17 Tarleton State last week. The Rattlers improved to 15-4 as a team with those statement victories.
Next up for the Rattlers is their final home match of the season when they'll host Dallas Baptist in a Heartland Conference Tournament preview at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the St. Mary's tennis courts.
St. Mary's University, as a Catholic Marianist University, fosters the formation of people in faith and educates leaders for the common good through community service, integrated liberal arts and professional education, and academic excellence. The University has six athletic national titles: men's basketball (1989–NAIA), baseball (2001–NCAA Div. II), softball (1986–NAIA and 2002–NCAA Div. II) and an individual national champion in men's golf (2006–NCAA Div. II) and a national academic championship in men's golf (2009–NCAA Div. II). St. Mary's also had more than 40 percent of its athletes named to conference, regional and/or national honor rolls this past year. St. Mary's student–athletes graduation rate is 65 percent, higher than the NCAA Division II average of 55 percent. To learn more about St. Mary's, visit www.rattlerathletics.com.
