Recruit Report takes a look at all the incoming student-athletes for each program ahead of their 2025-26 athletic season and highlights all incoming student-athletes who filled out the recruitment form available to them during the summer of their first season at Post University.
WATERBURY, Conn. -- Heading into his 17th season at the helm of the Post University Women's Tennis program, Head Coach
Rob Howard is bringing in four new student-athletes to his squad ahead of the 2025-26 season, helping replace the hole left behind by the departure of seniors
Megan Lombardt and
Nina Langenfeld this past spring. The Eagles will return senior
Gioia Turco and sophomore
Julie Merlin for the campaign, while a trio of players from last fall left the team to return home.
Vitalina Sokoliuk
Vitalina Sokoliuk comes to Post from Kyiv, Ukraine, and the Optima School, having started her tennis journey at the age of six. Relocating after the start of the war in Ukraine back in 2022, Sokoliuk credits tennis to being her structure during a time of change and has trained in Slovakia, Montenegro, and currently, Cyprus. Playing in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Tennis Europe (TE) Tournaments, she is currently ranked 14th in Cyprus in the 18U category, while her previous ranking was as high as fifth in the Ladies Division.
Laura Kotala
Hailing from Sankt Augustin, Germany, and the Rhein-Sieg-Gymnasium, Lauren Kotala primarily played in the #4 slot while competing on the TC Ro-Weiss Hangelar Club Team overseas. During the summer of 2023, she posted a perfect 11-0 record with the club before going 6-2 last summer and will enter Post as a junior.
Savannah Croft
The only other freshman alongside Sokoliuk,
Savannah Croft, got her start in the Anguilla Tennis Academy on the small island of Anguilla in the main capital known as The Valley back in 2009, and has been there ever since. Off the court, Croft has a wide array of experiences working within the Anguilla Youth Parliament, Anguilla National Youth Council, and academically has been recognized for her excellence in the classroom, as well as won four poetry awards since 2016. Croft has currently a PTR Level 1 Certified Tennis Coach since 2024.
Ana Quecia Vasilis
A five-time national champion from 2018-22 in her home country of Mozambique, Ana Quecia Vasilis got her start in tennis at the age of just seven years old en route to all her success in recent years. Quecia Vasilis represented her country in the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup, and in 2023, helped Barton Community College finish eighth in the National NJCAA Division I National Tennis Championships before transferring to Xavier University of Louisiana in 2024.
