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Women's Tennis Signs Three
November 21, 2013 | Women's Tennis
Nov. 21, 2013
Ariana Rodriguez of Bronx, N.Y., Jessie-Lynn Paul of Greenville, N.C. and Aleksandra Mally of Franklin Square, N.Y. have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their tennis careers at the University of Louisville according to head coach Mark Beckham.
"I think every coach would admit that they are better coaches when they have really good players and I just got a lot better!" said Beckham. "This is the best class that we have brought in since I have been here with the women. We were able to get five star players with Manuela Velasquez three years ago and Cassie Pough last year but to be able to bring in three five star players in one class is a big deal for us. This comes at a great time, since we are moving into the ACC, which is the toughest women's tennis conference in the country. With Julia Fellerhoff and Becca Shine being seniors, we really needed to bring in an elite class and we accomplished that. The success the program has had in recent years and the fact we will be playing in the best tennis conference in America really helped us in landing these players that were also recruited by teams from the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and all of the other major conferences in the country. This is without question one of the best recruiting classes in the country."
Aleksandra Mally ofFranklin Square, NY, is a five star recruit whose highest tennisrecruiting.net ranking last year was No. 52. She is currently ranked fourth in the East and 52nd in her recruiting class and third in the state of New York. In 18s, she won multiple Sectional Level 1 events and earned multiple sportsmanship awards during tournaments. She also received second place for the high performance junior award at the end of 2013 at the US Open. In 16s, she was ranked 10th in Eastern Section and ranked in the Top 150 nationally. She reached two semi-finals of USTA National Tournaments and won Eastern Sectional Level 1+ Events. Playing in her first WTA Event at age of 15 years old, she won her first WTA Singles Point. She played in three WTA Events where she won multiple rounds.
"Aleksandra carries herself like a pro already and that is what really attracted me to her," said Beckham. "She is very serious about her game and she wants to be the best player she possibly can and is willing to work for it. She is so solid with her groundstrokes, she makes it look effortless. Once we get her physically stronger and improve her serve, she will be one of the better freshmen in the country next year!"
Ariana Rodriguez is a five star signee from Bronx, N.Y. with her highest tennisrecruiting.net ranking for 2013 coming in at No. 46. She played for Allied National H.S.and won singles, and doubles championships in Eastern sectionals at every age level; sectional 12's at age 11, 14's at age 12, 16's at age 14, and 18's at age 15. In 18's, she defeated Louisa Chirico 7-5, 7-6 in the final. Chirico is currently on the WTA tour, as well as being a semifinalist at both Junior French Open and Junior Wimbledon. At the age of 14, she won the Memorial Day National 16's Championships held at Robbie Wagner's tennis club in New York. At the age of 14, she won the doubles of the 18's National Tournament held in Syracuse, N.Y. This past summer, she won the National Championship in doubles, in Aston, PA with Rachel Pierson of the University of Virginia. She also played a WTA event held in Buffalo, N.Y. and qualified with wins over Amanda Rodgers of Syracuse University, who is ranked 1,000 in the world WTA. She defeated her 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the main draw. After she defeated Jessica Lawrence, ranked 600 in the world WTA, she advanced to the round of 16, and gained her first WTA point.
"I like Ariana's game a lot, she can do a little bit of everything so she won't be reliant on just one game style to win, she can do it all," said Beckham. " I think she will help us in singles and doubles immediately. She also has played at the highest level possible, so she will not be intimidated by anyone. We are lucky to have her. She has unlimited potential!"
Jessie-Lynn Paul of Greenville, NC is another five star recruit with her highest tennisrecruiting.net ranking for 2013 coming in at No. 65. She was a North Carolina State Qualifier doubles winner and a North Carolina state qualifier in singles where she finished third. She finished third in the New Jersey National Open 16s and was a Raleigh, N.C. Southern Bullfrog winner in both 16s and 18s. She was a member of the North Carolina Zonals team and was a 14s National Hard Court Gold Ball. She was a doubles semi-finalist in the Nassau Bahamas Doubles ITF and an ITA Mary Washington champion. Paul was UNC ITA semi-finalist and a North Carolina state sportsmanship award recipient. WITN News station named her as Player of the Week. She was a USTA winter southern championship doubles 18s finalist and a third place winner in the USTA winter southern championships 18s singles competition.
"She is an agressive baseliner that has enough power in her game to beat anyone on a given day," said Beckham." We will need to get her stronger and moving better but she is fearless! She has been one of the best in the country during her time as a junior so she will have no issue beating high level players because she has done it a lot already."
