The defending Southland Conference Tournament champion Northwestern State women’s tennis team picked up an influx of experienced talent, announcing the addition a pair of transfers Friday.

Joining second-year coach Olga Bazhanova’s program are Ilijana Ivic, who comes to Northwestern State from Laredo Junior College, and Virginia Commonwealth transfer Alžbeta Veverkova.

“We are very excited for the new girls to join our team,” Bazhanova said. “They are all good students and hard-working athletes.”

Ivic was a top-15 junior player in Croatia and held a top-20 ranking in Germany before coming to Laredo. During her time in junior college, she was the No. 12 ranked player in the national junior college rankings.

Ivic, a native of Split, Croatia, graduated with a 3.6 grade-point average. She had a pair of second-place regional tournament finishes and won the consolation bracket of the national tournament.

“Ilijana played the No. 1 position at Laredo Junior College, one of the top junior college tennis programs in the country,” Bazhanova said. “She is ready to take the next step in her career and compete at a stronger Division I program. She has heavy groundstrokes and can control points from the baseline. She wants to improve and be the best she can be. She also is a very good student.”

Veverkova was part of the Atlantic-10 champion VCU program before deciding to transfer to Northwestern State following her freshman season. A native of Martin, Slovakia, Veverkova played three sports in high school, lettering in tennis, track and badminton.

She was ranked in the top three in Slovakian juniors and in the top 23 nationally in women’s tennis.

“Alžbeta joins us from a very good tennis program,” Bazhanova said. “She has strong groundstrokes and is very consistent. She is physically strong, competitive and hard working. Alžbeta is a solid student who will study pre-medicine.”