Greyhound Tennis Teams Select 2025-26 Captains
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men’s and women’s tennis squads have selected seniors Ryan Burke and Shayaan Farhad and junior Gavin Labbadia as men’s captains and senior Izzy Szmodis and junior Leah Zolotareva as women’s captains for the 2025-26 season.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. --- The Moravian University men's and women's tennis squads have selected seniors Ryan Burke and Shayaan Farhad and junior Gavin Labbadia as men's captains and senior Izzy Szmodis and junior Leah Zolotareva as women's captains for the 2025-26 season.
Burke has recorded a 40-8 singles record in his career, and he is 14-4 in doubles action for the Greyhounds while Farhad has a 19-18 all-time mark in both singles and doubles. Farhad, who missed last season with an injury, was the 2023 Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year, and he was three selections to the Landmark All-Conference Teams. Labbadia is 35-3 in singles action during his career, and he also has a 20-8 doubles mark for Moravian.
"We're excited to have Shayaan, Ryan, and Gavin serve as our captains this season," commented Director of Tennis Mariana Freitas. "We're hoping these three guys will step up as leaders for us, set a great example for their teammates, and help guide what we believe is a very strong team. With their leadership, we're looking forward to building on our strengths and making this a successful year."
Szmodis and Zolotareva are serving as the women's team captains for the second straight year. Zolotareva was named the 2025 Landmark Conference Player of the Year, and she has four Landmark All-Conference selections while Szmodis has also made the Landmark All-Conference Teams four times. Szmodiz has posted a 39-18 career singles record, and she is 48-15 in doubles action while Zolotareva has career marks of 27-12 in singles and 30-8 in doubles.
"We're proud to have Leah and Izzy returning as our captains this year after doing a great job in their roles last season," Freitas stated. "They were strong leaders for us last year, and I know they'll be even more motivated this season. We are excited to return key contributors while also adding some talented newcomers, which makes for a really promising year ahead."
Both Moravian teams are set to begin the 2025-26 season on Saturday, September 20 when the squads travel to DeSales University in a pair of non-conference matches beginning at 12:00 p.m.
