RIO GRANDE VALLEY – Head Coach of the Vaqueros women’s tennis team of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) West Nott announced on Thursday five new additions to the squad for the 2024-25 year.

Maria Bakhtina, Luna Buijtenhuijs, Madeleine Joffe, Rhea Makesar And Hitakamya Narwhal will join four returnees on the Vaqueros’ roster for the upcoming fall and spring seasons. This recruiting class is a mix of freshmen and transfer players, and Nott expects the newcomers to quickly compete for spots in the lineup.

“We have five new players coming in and we are really excited to see the impact they will have on the program. They all love the game and know what it takes to be successful,” Nott said.

Bakhtina is a 6’0″ freshman from Yekaterinburg, Russia, studying graphic design. She was the doubles champion at the 2023 ITF J5 Tbilisi tournament in Georgia and the runner-up at the 2022 ITF J5 Yerevan tournament in Armenia. Nott said she has a strong serve and smooth groundstrokes from both wings and is looking forward to seeing her athleticism in action.

Buijtenhuijs, a 5-foot-5 freshman from Lanton, France, is studying interdisciplinary studies. Nott called the left-hander a great athlete who moves well, is explosive out of the corners and finishes aggressively around the net, which will be a huge asset in the doubles game.

Joffe is a 5’9″ sophomore from Florida Gulf Coast. The Paris, France native helped FGCU to an overall record of 14-10. She was named an ITA Scholar-Athlete and appeared in five matches for FGCU, which reached the final of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) Tournament Championship Match. Nott described Joffe as a very talented, strong player with a powerful serve and accurate, consistent groundstrokes.

Makesar comes to UTRGV after playing one season at South Florida. The 5-foot-10 sophomore from Perth, Australia, will study biology/exercise science and has a goal of studying medicine. She appeared in six matches for USF during the 2024 doubleheader season. Makesar captained the Western Australia state team three times and was a member of the Australian Junior Team in 2020. Nott said the left-hander is very skilled and will attack and throw darts across the court.

Narwal, a 5-2 sophomore from Haryana, India, comes to UTRGV after playing one season in South Dakota. She held an overall record of 8-3 in singles and went 10-5 in doubles to help South Dakota to a second-place finish in the Summit League regular season and conference tournament. Narwall was a top-10 player in India in the U16 and U18 categories and a top-25 player. She was recognized by South Dakota’s business school for her academic success in the 2023-24 season. Nott called Narwal a combative player who can adapt to a variety of situations. Another left-handed player, she has the ability to place balls into tight windows with precision and consistency.

“Mariia brings a great joy to the team atmosphere and I truly believe she will thrive in the team environment and play with a lot of pride. Luna is willing to go all the way to the end to make life difficult for her opponents and will be a great asset to our team. Madeleine’s strength will be the mental skills she brings with her attitude and ability to process information under pressure. Rhea is an extremely hard worker who is professional in her process and will add a lot of value to our team culture. Hitakamya is always thinking on the court, is very team-oriented and will be a tough player who pushes those around her,” Nott said. “We have a lot of hard work ahead of us to build our team culture. This is going to be a big fall for us and we can’t wait to jump on the court and work with this group.”

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