Conference Highlights
Carleton has finished in the top three of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference(MIAC) standings 18 times since joining the conference in 1983. In 2012, they won the MIAC Championships and ended with a 10-0 conference record. The Knights have gone to the NCAA Championships four times in the history of the program including a second round finish in 2012.
Side note: Please visit our athletic site and you will have the opportunity to fill out a simple questionnaire for more information. The link is below:
https://apps.carleton.edu/athletics/recruit_center/request_info/womens_tennis/
Post Season Highlights
The Knights have enjoyed a great deal of success over the years, including national top 10 rankings in 1995 and 1996 and a team regional ranking for the past nine seasons.
An up-and-coming squad, Carleton was ranked #20 nationally and #6 in the Central Region in 2011 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association. The 2012 team finished the season as #29 in the nation.
Tournament Highlights
In the 2012 season, the Knights advanced to the 2nd round of the NCAA National Championships in the 24-team field.
The Knights won the doubles championship at the 2012 ITA Midwest Regional Tournament, advancing to the USTA/ITA National Small College Championships and garnering athletes Mikayla Becich and Bridget Doyle All-American statuses.
At the 2012 Midwest Fall Invite, two Carleton doubles teams were crowned co-champions.
Individual Achievements
For the 11th consecutive year, the Knights earned ITA All-Academic team status. The Knights are the only MIAC tennis program, male or female, to receive this award every year since its inception in 2002. Individually, 5 Knights from the 2012 team were honored as ITA Scholar-Athletes.
Senior Bridget Doyle ended the 2012 season as #23 in the region. As the ITA Midwest Regional Tournament doubles winner with freshman Mikayla Becich, she has already garnered All-American status for 2013.
At the close of the 2012 season, 5 Knights earned All-MIAC awards.
Last season, junior Molly Hemes went 10-0 in both singles and doubles and junior Katherine Greenberg went 10-0 in doubles. Junior Anne Lombardi went 9-0 on the season in singles for a 17-1 career record.
2012 graduate Kathryn Schmidt was honored as a 4-time All-American, 4-time All-MIAC, played at the NCAA Championships as an individual all 4 years of her career, and was a 4-time ITA Scholar-Athlete. Schmidt joined fellow 2012 graduate, Erin Gudul, in doubles as the #24-ranked duo in the nation, the 3rd national ranking in their career together.
Coaching Achievements
Luciano Battaglini
Luciano Battaglini recently completed his fifth season as Carleton's head women's tennis coach. Battaglini has been honored as the 2012 MIAC Coach of the Year, 2011 ITA Division III National Women's Coach of the Year, 2011 Regional Coach of the Year, and 2010 Northern Division College Coach of the Year by the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA). At Carleton, he has coached players to a combined four All-American citations, 33 All-MIAC awards, 22 ITA Scholar-Athlete awards, and four individual appearances at the NCAA Championships.
A native of Brasilia, Brazil, Battaglini served as the assistant women's tennis coach at the University of Minnesota from 2003-2007. During his tenure with the Gophers, Battaglini coached 12 Academic All-Big Ten performers, three All-Big Ten first-team honorees, the 2007 ITA National Cissie Leary Award for Sportsmanship, eight ITA Scholar-Athletes and a NCAA Championships qualifier in 2004.
Prior to his tenure at Minnesota, Battaglini spent one season as Oklahoma State University's assistant women's tennis coach, where he helped lead the Cowgirls to their first Big 12 title in school history. Oklahoma State finished the 2002-2003 season ranked 25th in the nation.
Battaglini is a member of the USPTA and has completed the USTA High Performance Coaching seminar.
Fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Battaglini received his bachelor of science degree in psychology from Oklahoma Christian University, where he played tennis from 1996-2000. He was a 2000 ITA All-American and ITA Scholar-Athlete. Battaglini earned his master's degree in family science from Oklahoma State University. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in sports psychology at the University of Minnesota.
Prior to his collegiate career, Battaglini was a seven-time state champion in Brasilia, Brazil, as a junior player, and went over 100 matches without a loss from 1990-96. In 1989-90, he was ranked in the nation's top 10 among junior players and rose to the top five in 1992. During his tennis career in Brazil, Battaglini has had the opportunity to train and compete against former number one professional player in the world, Gustavo Kuerten, as well as former top 100 professional players Mariano Puerta, Mariano Zabaleta, Andre Sa, Marcos Daniel and Alexandre Simoni.
He also serves as an assistant professor in the physical education, athletics and recreation department at Carleton.
Zach Pruitt '00
Zach Pruitt enters his fourth year as an assistant coach with the women's tennis team. He previously spent eight seasons serving as an assistant and recruiting liaison for the men's program, a role he will continue to fill. A two-time Wisconsin state doubles champion and all-state selection, Pruitt was captain and played #1 singles for the Knights as a senior. In 2000, he received the MIAC's Arthur Ashe Award, given to a player who combines tennis and academic excellence with sportsmanship and humanitarian concern. Pruitt earned his B.A. in political science from Carleton in 2000 and his M.A. from the University of Chicago in 2006. In addition to his tennis duties, Pruitt is the executive director of the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, a local non-profit youth organization.
