Women's Tennis | March 20

DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University women's tennis head coach Eric Burns announced the signing of Turkey's Irmak Budak who will join the Huskies for the 2024-25 season.
 
Budak, a native of Istanbul, Turkey who attends SAJEV High School, has been ranked as high as 954 in the International Tennis Federation junior singles ranking with an ITF women's professional ranking as high as 1621.  
 
"We are really excited to add Irmak to the team," Burns said. "She has a lot of ITF junior and pro match experience on her résumé and has achieved world rankings in both juniors and pros. You can see her potential in some of the big wins she has had against top players. She is capable of playing at a high level and we hope to continue to develop her consistency. Furthermore, she is a committed player and has a reputation for finding ways to win. We look forward to working with her and developing her game."
 
Budak's singles success on the ITF junior circuit includes reaching the quarterfinals in six ITF regional tournaments in Turkey, Georgia and Iran, where she advanced to the semifinal of the j60 Kish Island event. She was also a quarterfinalist in her country's championship and recorded a win over WTA-ranked Julita Saner at the W25K ITF Pro circuit event.
 
In doubles, Budak's experience includes a finals appearance at the j30 Istanbul junior tournament. She and her partner reached the semifinals at ITF events in Damour, Lebanon and Izmir, Turkey
 
Budak is the third player to sign with the Huskies for 2024-25, joining Theodora Kousiou of Thessaloniki, Greece and Lucia Yecora from Seville, Spain.
 
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