DI Grad Transfers Bolster 2022 Sharks Tennis Roster

Nika Kozar and Zala Dovnik will join the Sharks next year from Virginia Tech and Purdue

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Entering the season ranked No. 3 nationally with a stacked roster returning from the shortened 2020 season, fifth-year Nova Southeastern women’s tennis head coach Doug Neagle has announced some big moves for the future. On Monday, Neagle announced the signing of graduate transfers Nika Kozar and Zala Dovnik, coming from Virginia Tech and Purdue, respectfully. Both players will be taking the court for the Sharks during the 2021-22 school year.

Nika Kozar and Zala Dovnik Playing Slovenia U12 Nationals — Nika and Zala Together
Back Home in Slovenia

Despite spending the majority of their collegiate careers separated by hundreds of miles, the pair are lifelong friends and teammates from Slovenia, where they played U12 and won multiple doubles National Juniors Championships together.

“I am so excited to welcome Zala and Nika to our Shark family,” Neagle said. “After talking to both of these young ladies, I had to get them here. They both have big goals, share our programs vision and are willing to work hard to achieve our team goals. Great story too as they are best friends that won multiple national junior doubles championships together in Slovenia. Now they get to close out their college careers together. We have so many strong players returning next year and adding these two with their talent and experience is going to be great. The future is bright for this program.”

Ranked at 9.82 Universal Tennis Rating (UTR), Kozar (Jesenice, Slovenia) played at No. 2 singles and No. 2 doubles last year for Virginia Tech. As a sophomore, Kozar bested Duke’s nationally 19th-ranked Kelly Chen in straight sets, as well as topping No. 117 Kylie Wilcox (Boston College). She enters 2021 with a 32-30 singles record and 29-23 mark in doubles. Kozar also is an ITA Scholar Athlete. Before coming to the U.S., Kozar had achieved an International Tennis Federation (ITF) juniors ranking of No. 150, had represented Slovenia at the Winter Cup and European Championships and was crowned the Slovenia National Champion in singles – six-time National Champion in doubles.

A Big Ten Sportsmanship honoree and ITA Scholar Athlete at Purdue, Dovnik (Maribor, Slovenia) has a 9.85 UTR and largely played No. 5 singles and No. 1 doubles last year for the Boilermakers, going 13-8 in singles and 11-11 in doubles. Heading into 2021, Dovnik has a 40-35 singles record and 36-45 mark in doubles. Before making her way to Indiana, she had reached a Slovenian National Women’s Ranking of No. 8, was No. 3 among Under-18 players and was a five-time Slovenian National Champion in doubles, also representing Slovenia in both the Summer and Winter Cup.