Francis Marion University women's tennis head coach Jay Evans has announced the signing of 5-4 Polina Gontaryk of Brovary, Ukraine, to a national letter of intent to attend FMU and compete for the Patriots beginning this fall.

Gontaryk is a product of Dream School in Odesa, Ukraine.

"Polina has a good amount of international experience and I look for her to play in our top three in singles," Evans said.  "She grew up in Ukraine, but has spent the past few years in Germany and is now looking forward to coming to the U.S.  She will be only 17 years old when she arrives on campus, so she is still growing as a player, and that allows for a big upside in her development.  She has a solid base to her game and I am excited she has decided to attend Francis Marion and become a Patriot."

Francis Marion finished its 2023 season with a 10-11 record and placed seventh during the Conference Carolinas regular season.  All seven team members will return for the 2024 season, in addition to Gontaryk and several other signees.