Francis Marion University women's tennis head coach
Jay Evans has announced the signing of Chelsea Seidewitz of Fassberg, Germany (pictured right), to a national letter of intent and the addition of Julia Pinto of Santos, Brazil (pictured left), for the upcoming 2023 season.
Seidewitz, 5-8, is a product of Christian-Gymnasium Hermannsburg, where she played for coaches Steve Williams and Andre Kornhass. She has been the team captain at VfL Westercelle for the past two seasons, while playing in the Nordliga/Oberliga – the fourth highest league in Germany.
An active tournament player, she has registered many top finishes, including Ladies Lubeck champion in 2020 and Ladies State Championship consolation winner in 2019.
"We are fortunate to get a player with her skill set," said Evans. "Chelsea has played high level tennis in Germany and she understands the team atmosphere. She is very comfortable playing at the net and would describe herself as a 'serve and volley' type player. She will fill a need for us, and should play high in our line-up for both singles and doubles."
Pinto, 5-0, comes to FMU after two seasons at West Virginia Wesleyan College – the school where Evans coached before taking over the Francis Marion program.
Under Evans' direction in 2021, she earned second-team All-Conference honors in the Mountain East Conference, and garnered Academic All-MEC recognition. This past season, she played mainly at the No.1 and 2 slots in singles for the Bobcats and at No.1 in doubles. She was recently named to the MEC Commissioner's Honor Roll for 2021-22.
She is a graduate of Goliath Academy.
"Julia's best tennis is still ahead of her. She does a lot with the ball, can hit every shot, and is an all-court player. Heading into the 2023 campaign here at FMU, she will benefit from an increased training program."
Francis Marion lost two players off last year's squad that finished 14-6 with a No.72 national ranking in the final poll. In the team's first season as a member of Conference Carolinas, FMU placed second during the regular season and then advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
