Ladyjacks Land Nation's Top Mid-Major Recruiting Class
6/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
June 8, 2011
Just days after being ranked as the nation's No. 23 ranked recruiting class, another honor has been awarded to head coach Patrick Sullivan's first class. The Stephen F. Austin tennis team's 2011 recruiting class has been ranked as the top mid-major class in the country according to tennisrecruiting.net.
"It's always fun to be No. 1, but unfortunately they don't give out rings for recruiting championships," said Sullivan. " So we'll just have to take it for what it is, a great compliment about the ability and potential of our incoming class. I am obviously very high on all of these girls and it's good to know that the experts agree.
"I want to thank a few people who work hard behind the scenes to make great recruiting classes and great teams possible: Haley Blount, Amber Burdge and Matt Fenley who provide our student-athletes with the best compliance and academic support in the country. Also Heather Catton, Ken Felts, and all of the folks in the Office of International Programs who are always so great to work with and help make SFA such a warm and welcoming place for these kids who are so far away from home," added Sullivan.
The mid-major rankings include all programs in all divisions except for schools affiliated with the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC. These rankings include players who will be incoming freshmen during the upcoming academic year.
Sullivan brought six players to go along with returning No. 1 singles' player Alina Shazhko, who helped SFA set a program record for wins, winning percentage and winning streak in 2011, along with its first ever national ranking. SFA also returns redshirt freshman Jithmie Jayawickrema who came to Nacogdoches from Sri Lanka where she was her country's top-ranked player.
The incoming class consists six players who will have four years of eligibility, and bring a high-level of competitive experience to Nacogdoches. The 2011 class includes Dalina Dahlmans (Selfkant, Germany), Daphne Friedrichs (Hüfingen, Germany), Malena Gordo (Buenos Aires, Argentina), Elena Kordolaimi (Lamia, Greece), Julia Lorca (Lyon, France) and Nataly Yoo (Houston, Texas).
SFA was the lone Southland Conference school to receive mention in the mid-major poll.
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