Women's Tennis Earns Top Ten Recruiting Class
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah women's tennis team earned a top ten recruiting class for the first time in school history. The Utes earned the ninth-ranked class by the Tennis Recruiting Network.
"It's a great day for our program," remarked head coach Ric Mortera. "We strongly believe that the University of Utah and Salt Lake City has a lot to offer, and I am thrilled that the caliber of student-athletes we have coming believe in that as well. This is a testament not only to the great people we have coming but also to the great people that we have here that makes it special. So proud of the efforts of our current and past groups in creating a culture that appeals to future Utes."
Utah has signed three for next season. Kaila Barksdale, Yasmin Ezzat, and Marcela Lopez have all signed to join the Utes for the 2022-23 season.
Top??recruiting class coming to Salt Lake City?#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/VOElQyCCCx
— Utah Women's Tennis (@UteWomensTennis) February 7, 2022
Barksdale comes to the University of Utah as one of the top prospects in the country. She is a blue-chip recruit who has ranked as high as #15 in the nation and is the seventh-best player out of California. She is the first-ever blue-chip recruit to sign with Utah. During her sophomore and junior year, Barksdale was the CIF Singles Champion (2019 & 2020-21); while being a finalist her senior year.
Ezzat comes to the University of Utah after a successful junior career. She ranked as high as the #2 ranked player in Africa and as #1 in Egypt. She also ranked as high as #132 in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings and is currently #953 on the Women's Tennis Association Pro Tour. She is the highest international recruit for the Utes since 2011.
A Frisco, Texas native, Lopez joins the Utes after a successful junior career. She is a five-star rated recruit who has ranked as high as #34 nationally and #3 in Texas. Throughout her career, Lopez has achieved success on both the international and national stages.
For the complete rankings of the Tennis Recruiting Network, click here.
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Fans can follow along during the 2022 season on social media (Twitter: @UteWomensTennis | Instagram: @UtahWomensTennis | Facebook: Facebook.com/Utahwomenstennis).