LEXINGTON ? The Kentucky women?s tennis program has signed four players, one for the upcoming 2007 season and three for the 2008 campaign, head coach Carlos Drada announced Monday.
?I feel very fortunate to have a group of outstanding student-athletes join our program,? Drada said. ?These new players will help us continue the excellence this program has enjoyed over the past few years.?
German native Sarah Woestmann should make an immediate impact, enrolling in school in January allowing her to compete this season. She carries a world ITF junior ranking of No. 209 five spots off her career high, reached this past November.
Despite playing only a handful of American tournaments, Woestmann is a five-star recruit according to tennisrecruiting.net and is the No. 24 ranked senior on the site.
Kentucky also inked three players for the 2008 season, Megan Broderick, Alaina Trgovich and Lauren Meier. Broderick, a Tampa, Fla., native, is just two spots behind Woestmann on the tennisrecruiting.net rankings, holding down the No. 26 spot. She is currently the 33rd ranked junior according to the USTA.
Yet another five-star recruit, Trgovich is ranked as the top recruit out of the state of Indiana and the 48th best nationally. In the USTA ratings, she is 67th. Out of Woodstock, Ga., Meier rounds up the class. She is yet another top 100 recruit, coming in at No. 81 after being as high as 36th earlier in the year. Meier has a USTA junior ranking of No. 199.
?The arrival of these players constitutes a new and exciting chapter in Kentucky women?s tennis,? Drada added. ?I believe they will not only continue on the path set by our graduating student-athletes, but also has the potential to take UK tennis to higher levels that it has ever seen.?
Kentucky has reached the round of 16 in five straight NCAA Tournaments while claiming the Southeastern Conference Championship and advancing to the quarterfinals in 2005. The Wildcats look to continue their success on the national level beginning this January when the 2007 season kicks off.
