Women of Troy sign two players for 2014


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The women’s tennis team will welcome two new players for the 2014-2015 season since Gabrielle Smith and Madison Westby signed national letters of intent, head coach Richard Gallien and associate head coach West Nott said on Monday.

Smith attended Coronado High School in Henderson, Nev., where she ranked in the top 10 in the nation and earned three Silver Balls and four Bronze Balls. In her freshman year, she earned the title of Nevada 4A individual champion.

A Tulsa, Okla. native, Westby will graduate from Bishop Kelley High School, where she was a three-time state champion and earned a career-high ranking of 13 in the nation. She recently won the singles title at an ITA international tournament in Waco, Texas and was the singles and doubles champion at a USTA tournament in St. Louis, Mo. The 2013 Missouri Valley Player of the Year earned one Silver Ball in doubles.

Smith and Westby look to contribute to a team that completed a successful fall season, with different players stepping up each week for tournament competition.

Newcomers this season freshman Zoë Katz and senior Brynn Boren, who transferred from Tennessee, performed well in their first season with the Women of Troy, reaching the finals in the ITA Regionals before falling to UCLA. In singles, Boren also led the Women of Troy as the runner-up of the tournament.

Senior Kaitlyn Christian and junior Sabrina Santamaria have proved themselves as a dominant duo in doubles play, coming off of a national championship win in the 2012-2013 season. The pair was ranked No. 1 in the nation by ITA but fell in the semifinals of the regional tournament.

The Women of Troy will return to the court for the ITF Florida Open on Jan. 17.