DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bethune-Cookman opens its 2017 spring season Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. against UCF at the USTA's new National Campus in Lake Nona.

The Lady Wildcats are coming off a 12-13 campaign in 2016 that saw their defense of their 2015 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship end with a loss to South Carolina State in the conference tournament semifinals.

Four players return from last year, with two new players and a new coach – Val Villucci.

MEET THE NEW COACH:  Villucci spent more than 20 years with the women's and men's tennis programs at the University of Rhode Island.
 
In August 2013, she was elevated to full time status as the head coach for the women's tennis program. Having previously coached the URI women from 1993-2004, Villucci returned to the program in 2009 and guided the Rams to a 40-39 mark in dual matches.
 
Villucci also served as the head coach of the URI men's tennis team from 2004 until 2008, when the program was eliminated. In their final season, Villucci's Rams went 17-6 and broke into the April 22 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) weekly poll with a No. 102 ranking.

VILLUCCI ON HER NEW JOB AND HER OUTLOOK FOR 2017: "This is an exciting chapter in my career and one where my goals have been set to capture another championship for the men's and women's programs.  An athlete who has the opportunity to compete at the highest level and attend NCAA's is a privilege only given to a few.  Our athletes are humble enough to know what it takes to get there and driven to push themselves to the ultimate goal.  They are prepared to continue to work hard throughout the season to keep improving.  We will take our losses as our time to work on our weaknesses and we will take our wins as a stepping stone toward our goals

WHO'S BACK: The Lady Wildcats return stalwarts Mina Matsuba, a senior, and Alejandra Vidal, a junior.

Matsuba picked up her third MEAC Player Of The Year award last season. After dealing with some off-season injuries, Matsuba is poised to rewrite the program's record book, needing just six singles victories, seven doubles victories and ten combined wins to become the all-time leader in those categories.
Vidal, the 2015 MEAC tournament outstanding player, won her final 10 singles matches and finished with a combined 37 victories during spring play. She's been named team captain.

Also returning: Sophomore Karen Romero and junior Matea Roki.

VILLUCCI ON THE RETURNEES: Obviously, our returnees add maturity to the program and we want to rely on them to be our leaders both on and off the court.  Mina will be motivated to leave her mark on the program.  Her strike is strong off of both sides as well as having a great tennis IQ.  Alejandra is a born leader and one who leads by example. I believe her no-quit attitude will continue to result in many victories for her.  Matea, a hard-hitting player, will keep her opponents off-balance and her style dictates play, and Karen will utilize her height to her advantage during play by scrambling to many shots that could otherwise appear to be a winner.
 
WHO'S NEW: Debora Bravo is a junior from Santiago, Chile and Phatsimo Ruelo is a freshman from Botswana. Both saw action during the team's abbreviate fall season.

VILLUCCI ON THE NEWCOMERS: Both Debora and Phatsimo will fill an important role on the team giving us depth to our lineup.  Debora is a versatile athlete with many weapons.  I'm looking forward to seeing her rise to the competition. Phatsimo has demonstrated her persistence and patience, a great quality that is needed to persevere on the court.
 
THE SEASON: Non-conference opponents include local rival Stetson as well as Tennessee State, Troy and North Florida. Key MEAC dates include March 25^th vs. South Carolina State and April 15 against Florida A&M, both at home.