FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Nova Southeastern women's tennis head coach Doug Neagle has announced the signing of Natalie Espinal and Diane Follin-Arbelet, the first two signees for the 2018-19 season.
 
"I am very excited to get these two freshman here together," Neagle said. "It will be great to see them play and grow collectively for the next four years. They both come in with experience at the international junior level and are highly ranked players. More importantly, they are great students and will be a solid addition to the program."

Natalie Espinal comes to NSU from Honduras with a career-best ITF ranking of 532 and a Universal Tennis Ranking (UTR) of 10.56. This season, Espinal won doubles in the Honduras Junior Bowl and was a semifinalist in singles and doubles at Copa Árabe. This past summer, she played in the Fed Cup for Honduras, alongside teammate and current NSU player, Daniela Obando on Honduras' Fed Cup team.


"Natalie is the top player in Honduras and their best player on the Fed Cup team," Neagle added. "Representing her country in the Fed Cup is an incredible experience, which will help her prepare for the collegiate level."

Current NSU Shark, Obando (left) and signee, Espinal (right) competing for Honduras. 

Diane Follin-Arbelet joins the Shark family via Lyon, France with a 10.5 UTR. This season she captured wins against players ranked -4/6 and -15. Follin-Arbelet will graduate in June 2018.


"Diane has a -2/6 French rating and has very solid wins against highly ranked players from all over the world," Neagle noted. "We saw great results against some American players as well, which gives us a good idea of how she competes at the higher level."

The Sharks return to competition at the NSU Tennis Complex for the start of the 2018 spring season on Feb. 1 against Keiser at 2:00 p.m.