Francis Marion University women's tennis head coach Jay Evans has announced the signing of 5-3 Mia Koepf of Bissingen an der Teck, Germany, and 5-8 Lian Timmermans of Nederweert, Netherlands, to national letters of intent to attend FMU and compete for the Patriots beginning this fall.

Koepf, is a product of Schlossgymnasium Kirchheim unter Teck.

"Mia continues our long-standing pipeline for players from Germany," Evans said.  "She is fundamentally solid, plays bigger than her stature, and has the potential to immediately break into our singles lineup.  Her background is solid too, as she comes from a tennis family."

Timmermans comes to FMU from Western New Mexico University, and will have three years of eligibility with the Patriots.  This past spring, she won her only singles match for the Division II Mustangs.

She is a graduate of Het College Weert.

Timmermans won a pair of 2022 ladies' tournaments (category 3) in Belgium, and played in a 2022 ITF Juniors (level 5) event in Hasselt, Belgium.  She was a quarterfinalist at the 2019 TEN-PRO Tournament at the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Spain. She was a district champion in the U16 Junior Age Division, and a former runner-up in a 1st Class National Championship Tournament.

"Lian is excited about a change of scenery coming from New Mexico, and is hungry to prove herself in a new situation.  She will add collegiate experience to our roster.  I expect her to work hard to break into the lineup, and she will make the team better."

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.