Katarina Balan Season 2001-02

2001-02: Senior
Katarina Balan capped her Husker career with another stellar season on the court. Balan finished the fall with a 3-4 record on both the singles and doubles court, but was firing on all cylinders when the spring season rolled around. 

Balan dominated the field in singles play, cruising to a 16-4 record during the spring. She was masterful against the opponents' top players, posting a 7-1 record at the No. 1 spot and a mark of 9-3 at No. 2. On the doubles court, Balan notched a .500 mark of 11-11 during the spring to bring her combined wins total to 33 on the season.

Along with facing the toughest competition the opposition offered, Balan also led the team in almost every win category, including spring singles wins (16), overall singles wins (19), Big 12 singles wins (7), and combined spring wins (27), combined Big 12 wins (10) and combined total wins (33).

Off the court, Balan's academic success was rewarded with her earning second-team academic All-Big 12 honors.

2000-01: Junior
After a great sophomore season, Balan followed up with a 22-10 record as a junior, ranking second on the team. Early in the season, Balan jumped around the top three spots before eventually finding her comfort zone at No. 2, where she posted a 12-3 record, while her doubles record was 17-15. For most of the season, Balan teamed up with Rose Keymayura at the No. 1 doubles spot. Together they posted a 10-5 record, while Balan finished the regular season with Amy Frisch and posted a 6-3 record.

Balan sported victories against No. 91 Lisa D'Amelio of Eastern Michigan 6-1, 7-6 (4) and No. 94 Monica Sekulov of Kansas 6-2, 6,4. In doubles, she teamed up with Ketmayura to defeat No. 31 Lisa D'Amelio and Rebecca Hawkins of Eastern Michigan 8-4. Balan posted a 6-4 singles record in the fall season. She went to the finals of the consolation bracket of the ITA Central Regional Championships, as well. Balan earned a spot on the academic All-Big 12 first-team.

1999-2000: Sophomore
Balan recorded one of the best seasons ever by a Husker, compiling a 17-2 record at No. 4 singles, while finishing second to Texas' Joanne Masongsong for the Big 12 conference championship. Balan also combined with teammate Maria Fernandez, winning the Big 12 championship at No. 2 doubles, Nebraska's first since 1977, finishing with an 18-3 record.

1998-99: Freshman
Balan made an instant impact on the Husker lineup playing No. 2 singles. She compiled a 15-7 record, while picking up another win in No. 3 singles. Balan teamed up with Danica Hardy and played mostly No. 3 doubles, earning a 15-3 record and a 3-1 record at No. 2 doubles.

Before Nebraska
In 1991, Balan moved to New Braunfels, Texas, and played at John Newcombe's Tennis Academy for Head Coach Phil Hendrie

Personal
The daughter of Vera and Jon Balan, Katarina was born April 18, 1979, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She is an international business major. Balan has one older brother, Alexsander.

CAREER STATS

Year	Singles	Doubles	Combined
1998-99	18-8	18-6	36-14
1999-2000	23-7	20-4	43-11
2000-01	22-10	17-15	39-25
2001-02	19-8	14-15	33-23
Totals	82-33	69-40	151-73