Ana Friganovic Kucelin

Ana Friganovic Kucelin Courtesy: New Mexico Athletics  
Release:   11/25/2014

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Ana Friganovic Kucelin

From the moment Ana Friganovic Kucelin stepped on the campus at the University of New Mexico in 1996, she made an impact.  The tennis star from Croatia wasted no time as she started making a name for herself as arguably the most distinguished player in the history of the UNM women’s tennis program. 

Kucelin came to UNM as an accomplished juniors champion and was No. 1 in Croatia for two years.  As a freshman, she made the US Collegiate scene take notice.  Kucelin earned the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors, was named first team All-WAC, and was also named the ITA’s Central Region Rookie Player of the Year.  She was only the second player and first freshman in New Mexico school history to be selected as an individual for the NCAA Division I Women’s Tennis Championships.  As documented in her sophomore season media guide, she set a goal to play in the NCAA’s every year, and she went on to do just that.

She completed her collegiate career with several accomplishments including being named a four-time All-Conference (in both the WAC and the Mountain West), All-Academic and Scholar Athlete, and a two-time ITA Academic All-American. 

Kucelin played the No. 1 position in the lineup her entire collegiate career and was team co-captain her senior season.  She was the first women’s tennis player in program history to have competed in nationals each year she was a Lobo. 

Among other accomplishments, Kucelin was named co-champion (with teammate junior Natalia Alekhova) at the 1999 ITA Central Region championships.  As a senior, she was named the 2000 ITA Central Region Senior Player of the Year plus earned the 2000 ITA Central Region/Tennis Magazine Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship and Leadership award.

She established UNM’s career record for most wins with 112 and also dominated the classroom.  She managed to maintain a 3.7 cumulative grade point average while earning her degree in International Business with a minor in German. 

This is not the first time Kucelin has been recognized by the UNM Athletic Hall of Honor.  In 2000 she was named the Female Athlete of the year.  At the time, the head women’s tennis coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said, “Ana was our most influential women’s student athlete tennis player ever at UNM.  She accomplished more than any other tennis player in the program by going to the NCAA four years in a row.”    

Since leaving UNM, Kucelin has had several stops that include playing for the Women’s Tennis Association, coaching at Virginia Tech, working as a Junior Tennis Director and earning two Masters Degrees (Health and Physical Education, Nutrition) which helped her become a registered dietitian nutritionist.  She currently resides in Georgia with her husband and two daughters, Bianka and Kalie Bella. 

Current UNM Women’s Tennis Head Coach Erica Jasper said, “Ana set the standard here for how a #1 should play and compete.  The sheer number of wins, NCAA Individual bids, NCAA Team bids-her player record is hard to argue with!  Once you factor in her academic prowess, she truly is an unbelievable role model for our current tennis student-athletes.  I was fortunate (or maybe unfortunate is the correct term) to face Ana across the net during my own college career; she competed with such determination and was always a tough out and had that reputation nationally.  She is one of those unique players who defined a generation of Lobo Women’s Tennis and our players continue to aspire to match her achievements on and off the court.”