UNCG's women's tennis recruiting class ranked No. 8 among mid-majors

GREENSBORO, N.C. – UNC Greensboro's women's tennis incoming recruiting class is ranked as the eighth-best among mid-major conferences according to tennisrecruiting.net this week.

Women's tennis coach Jeff Trivette received three signed commitments through the National Letter of Intent process, signing Alex Whitehead, Alexandra Skripkina and Annette Rios to enroll next fall.

The rankings spanned 24 conferences and did not include the six BCS conferences and the Ivy League. Pepperdine had the top-rated class, followed by Long Beach State, Akron, UCF and William & Mary to round out the top five. At eighth, UNCG was the top-rated class in the Southern Conference. Furman was ninth, Chattanooga was No. 19 followed by Wofford at No. 20 and Samford rounded things out at No. 25.

Whitehead is a native of Melbourne, Australia, where she attends Star of the Sea College Gardenvale. She is ranked No. 21 among under-18 players in Australia and has nearly cracked the national Top 100 for all ages. She also plays soccer and cricket in her native Australia and will join fellow countrywoman Lucy Dougherty, who just completed an outstanding freshman season at UNCG.

Skripkina is a native of Kiev, Ukraine. She has been ranked as high as the top 750 on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Circuit. She is no stranger to international competition, playing as a part of the Ukrainian National Team. In addition, her father is a former member of the Ukranian National Water Polo squad and is currently the head doctor for the Ukranian Olympic programs. Last year, she played in the USTA's National Player Development Program, playing in several tournaments.

Rios, who was born in Venezuela and has lived in El Salvador for the past 13 years, has been ranked as high as No. 530 in the ITF Junior Circuit. She is currently the No. 1-ranked player in her age bracket in all of Central America. For the last six years, she has been the top-ranked player in El Salvador within her age bracket. She has been a part of El Salvador's National Team since age 12.

The Spartans are coming off a standout season, going 15-6 overall and 8-2 in Southern Conference play. The Spartans return three players from that squad, including Dougherty who went 22-8 overall and a perfect 10-0 in league play.

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Tennisrecruiting.net Mid-Major Recruiting Rankings

Rank     School
1          Pepperdine
2          Long Beach State
3          Akron
4          UCF
5          William & Mary
6          Boston University
7          Tulane
8          UNC Greensboro
9          Furman
10         James Madison
11         Marshall
12         Air Force
13         Santa Clara
14         Richmond
15         Western Michigan
16         Memphis
17         Montana
18         UC Davis
19         Chattanooga
20         Wofford
21         Army
22         UC Irvine
23         Utah
24         Cal Poly
25         Samford

- UNCG -