USC Women's Tennis Signs Three New Players for 2021 Class

LOS ANGELES -- The USC women's tennis team will welcome three new Trojans, head coach Alison Swain announced today (Nov. 23). Grace Piper, Leyden Games and Sloane Morra will officially join the Women of Troy in the fall of 2021. 
 
"I'm extremely excited to welcome Grace, Leyden and Sloane to the Trojan Family," said Swain. "All three share consistent traits of passion for the game, a strong work ethic, and resiliency. Throughout the recruitment process they each expressed their commitment to being part of a team-focused environment and a championship program. I am confident they will add to our team culture and help add to the Trojan legacy."
 
Grace Piper crosses the Atlantic from Taunton, Somerset, England to join the Women of Troy. She holds a UTR of 10.65, and holds a career-high ranking as the No. 4 female in the United Kingdom Junior National Rankings. 
 
"Grace's resiliency on court was visible as tournament play resumed this year," said Swain. "A national champion in the UK, she continues to demonstrate that she is ready to compete with some of the top former and current college players."
 
Piper's accolades are extensive. She was the 2020 British Tour Premier Singles Champion and the 2020 British Tour Tier 1 Singles Runner Up. Piper claimed the 2019 British Tour Tier 1 Singles Championship as well as the 2019 British National Singles U18 Champion title. She was the 2019 Brinish National Doubles U18 Runner Up and was the U18 champion at the 2019 Brinish National Winter Tour, the 2019 Brinish National Tour Sutton and was the 2019 Brinish Tour Exeter Women's Open Champion. 
 
Additionally Piper competed at the 2019 Roehampton 25K Pro Circuit where she reached the Main Draw Round of 16. She also played at the 2019 Woking 25K Pro Circuit and competed in the finals of the Qualifying Round. 
 
Leyden Games is a Blue Chip five-star recruit from Irvine, Calif. She is the No. 22 player in the nation and the No. 8 player in California as ranked by TennisRecruiting.net. She holds a UTR of 10.32 for 2020 and was rated as high as 10.75 in the spring of 2019. Her career-high ITF ranking is 597. 
 
"Leyden has demonstrated consistent improvement over the time I've been able to observe her compete," said Swain. "One of the top players nationally and in Southern California, she has resumed tournament play the last few months with impressive results."
 
Games began traveling internationally to compete in tournaments during her junior year of high school. She has many notable finishes including being a semifinalist at the 2020 ITF J4 in Tampico, Mexico. Games was a semifinalist in doubles at the 2018 USTA L1 National Clay Court Championships. She was a finalist at the 2019 USTA L1 Winter Nationals and was the runner-up at the 2019 USTA L2 in Hawaii. 

Before pursuing tennis, Games was a competitive mogul skier. 
 
She has won many awards for her sportsmanship including the 2019 USTA Hawaii Tournament Sportsmanship Award. She was also a four-time recipient of the MVP award at Advantage Tennis Academy (2016-19). 
 
Sloane Morra of Rockville, Md. has quite the untraditional route to collegiate tennis. Mirroring the path of her sister, three-time ITA All-American Cameron Morra, a junior at North Carolina, she did not play on the Junior Tennis Circuit. Instead she grew up training with her sister and father, who is her primary coach, on the tennis court in their backyard. 
 
Morra began playing tennis when she was a toddler and her talent quickly became apparent. She competed for her high school tennis team at Walter Johnson High School in North Bethesda, Md. during her freshman year. Morra went undefeated that season. She was the Team County Champion and helped to lead her high school team to an undefeated season. 
 
"While Sloane has an untraditional background with limited tournament play, her game brings plenty of firepower!" said Swain. "Sloane is an explosive and skilled player, and she is incredibly motivated to be on court competing in cardinal and gold."
 
While she does not have an official tennis ranking, Morra's skills on the court speak for themselves. Her high-level of tennis play was evident in the recruiting process as she was sought after by some of the top programs in the nation. 
 
All three future Trojans will arrive in the fall of 2021 ready to contribute to the USC women's tennis team.