Junior Year (2013-14): For the second-consecutive season, Moreno-Kaste was named to the All-Southern Conference first team for doubles. She teamed with Katherine Oudin to post an 11-6 overall record and 7-1 mark at number one doubles. The Paladin duo won nine of its last 10 matches of the season, including an 8-6 victory over #71 Samford on March 29. Moreno-Kaste opened the season with a 6-3, 6-1 win over ETSU at number one singles and went on to pick up wins over Charlotte and UCF in the top singles spot. She moved to number two singles in mid-March, defeating UC Irvine, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7 in her first match at flight two. Moreno-Kaste defeated UNC Greensboro, Appalachian State, and Georgia Southern in SoCon singles action. She helped the Paladins to their first SoCon regular season title since 2009, as Furman went 9-0 in league play and closed out the regular season with a nine-match winning streak heading into the SoCon Championships.
Sophomore Year (2012-13): Moreno-Kaste was named to the All-Southern Conference first team for doubles along with Lauren Kline. The duo notched a 13-7 overall doubles record in the top doubles spot, including a 7-2 mark in conference action, giving the Moreno-Kaste/Kline team 20 career victories, which ranks tenth on Furman’s all-time list. The duo registered an 8-3 win at #56 UC Santa Barbara and an 8-3 victory against #72 East Carolina, which was the first of six-consecutive victories for the doubles team, including the duo’s first five league matches. In the decisive match versus Chattanooga to open the SoCon Tournament, Moreno-Kaste and Kline battled for a 9-8(5) win in the top doubles spot to secure the Paladins a spot in the tournament’s semifinals. In singles play, Moreno-Kaste posted an 11-9 overall mark and 7-3 conference record, playing primarily in the number two and number three positions. She was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for all matches played April 8-14 after registering a 5-0 record for the week in singles and doubles play, helping the Paladins to a 3-0 record over the span. Her three singles victories that week, all at flight two, came in straight sets, as she defeated Western Carolina, Charlotte, and Davidson to conclude the regular season. Moreno-Kaste tallied singles victories over #56 UC Santa Barbara and #72 East Carolina and put together a six-match winning streak midseason, including five five-straight conference victories.
Freshman Year (2011-12): Moreno was honored as a member of the Southern Conference All-Freshman team after notching a 14-9 overall record and 8-2 SoCon mark, playing mostly in the number five singles position. She recorded straight-set wins over #58 Georgia State and #72 Florida International to open the season then posted a 6-4, 6-4 victory at #67 Harvard and a 6-0, 6-3 win versus Boston University at the end of February. Moreno won 11 out of 13 matches beginning with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory at Loyola Marymount on March 10 and concluding with a 6-0, 6-0 trouncing of Appalachian State in the opening round of the Southern Conference tournament. She bested Georgia Southern and Appalachian State in straight-sets to open the conference season and tallied consecutive straight-set victories over Chattanooga, Wofford, Elon, and UNC Greensboro in the middle of the SoCon season. Moreno posted an 11-11 overall doubles mark and 5-4 league record in the top doubles position. She teamed with Michele Stanford for victories in the Paladins’ final four matches, including a key 8-5 win over College of Charleston in the final week of regular-season play.
Prep/Personal: Alex Moreno competed in Teen Tennis and Les Petit AS as a 13-year-old and was ranked 750 in the WTA in both singles and doubles as a prep. She played against Belgium in the Pro Fed Cup playoffs and qualified for the World Finals Junior Fed Cup. Alexandra Moreno was born on November 17, 1992, in Ann Arbor, Mich., to Mauricio Moreno and Erica Kaste. Her father played tennis at South Carolina. She is majoring in sociology.
Getting to know Alex Moreno-Kaste
Favorite restaurant: Waffle House & Hooters
Favorite band: Bob Marley
Favorite book: Ozzy
Favorite movie: The Hangover
Favorite TV show: Spongebob
First job: Tennis Coach
Dream job: Play a role in “The Office"
Most valuable item: My bottle of shampoo
