Sun Devils Ink Three to 2021 Signing Class
SUN DEVIL SIGNEES (FALL OF 2020 AND SPRING OF 2021)
TEMPE - Sun Devils women's tennis added Amber Lee (Orinda, Calif.), Patricija Spaka (Latvia), and Tara Würth (Croatia) this week as part of the 2021 signing class. Lee, Spaka and Würth signed their National Letters of Intent (NLI) this week alongside previously announced French native Giulia Morlet and will begin their academic and athletic careers at ASU next fall.
"We are extremely excited to welcome Tara, Patricija, Amber and Giulia to our women's tennis program," head coach Sheila McInerney said. "We feel very fortunate that they have all decided to become Sun Devils and our future is very bright with their addition. This group is very talented and love to play tennis. Sun Devil fans will enjoy watching them compete and they will be great ambassadors for ASU both on and off the court."
Lee, a five-star recruit, is the 28th-ranked recruit in the nation and represented Northern California in the Junior Fed Cup team competition.
"It has been fun to watch Amber compete during her junior career and we look forward to working with her once she arrives on campus," McInerney said. "We believe Amber will thrive in the team environment of college tennis and we expect her to have an immediate impact in both singles and doubles."
Spaka (10.91 UTR) peaked at No. 112 in the ITF junior World Rankings, represented Latvia in Junior Fed Cup competition and at the European Junior Championships, and holds two ITF junior singles titles and eight ITF junior doubles titles. She was a singles finalist at the U16 European Championships and is a champion with both the women's and junior Latvian national teams.
"We are elated that Patricija has chosen to become a member of our team here at Arizona State," associated head coach Matt Langley said. "Patricija is a talented left-hander that has had an excellent career as a junior player at the international level and we feel that she will only continue to get better within our program. She is extremely organized and we feel that she will absolutely flourish athletically and academically at ASU. We know she is excited to arrive in Tempe and we are eagerly awaiting her arrival in the Fall."
Würth (11.08 UTR) peaked at No. 1140 in WTA singles and No. 70 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior World Rankings. She competed in the French Open Junior Championships where she reached the second round, defeating the 7-seed and junior world No. 11. Würth represented Croatia in Fed Cup play and at the European Junior Championships, is a winner of six ITF junior singles titles and three ITF junior doubles titles, and reached the final of her first professional event (W15 Antalya).
"We are thrilled that Tara will be joining the Sun Devils in 2021! Tara absolutely loves tennis and is passionate about reaching her full potential. Not only is Tara a great player, but she is an incredible young person that we have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know throughout the recruiting process. Tara will make an immediate impact on our team and we can't wait to start working with her in the Fall."
Morlet is a top recruit and dominant lefty who holds a 10.55 UTR. She peaked at No. 44 in the ITF junior rankings, reached No. 1149 in the WTA singles, and peaked at No. 1098 in the WTA doubles rankings. Morlet has competed in three junior Grand Slams and represented France in the Junior Fed Cup.
"We are super excited to add Giulia to our program," associate head coach Matt Langley said. "Giulia is a hard-working and highly motivated individual and we believe that she will thrive in the collegiate environment. We look forward to working hard with Giulia to help her achieve all of her goals while continuing to propel our program forward."