Nov. 26, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Head coach Stephanie Nickitas was pleased to announce Monday that the UCF women's tennis program has signed three players to National Letters of Intent. Christy Core (Charlotte, N.C.), Alexis Rodriguez (Boca Raton, Fla.) and Andrea Yacaman (Cartagena, Colombia) will all compete for the Knights beginning with the 2008-09 season.
"We are extremely excited about this recruiting class," said Nickitas. "Christy, Alexis and Andrea are three quality individuals that will be great additions to our team next year and will have an immediate impact. The girls are tremendously talented both on and off the tennis court and will be integral parts to the future success of our program."
Core is currently attending Covenant Day School in North Carolina, and is coming off a season in which she was named all-state and all-conference in singles and doubles. Core also was selected to the all-state team as a freshman. The Charlotte native went 3-2 in singles at the USTA National Opens in February 2007 and advanced to the finals of the doubles bracket. In early April, Core posted a 5-1 singles mark at the BullFrog USTA Southern Sectional. Competing at the 2007 National Open in Georgia, she went on to claim the doubles title with an 8-1 win over the No. 2 seed. Core has been rated as high as No. 62 on this year's recruiting rankings by TennisRecruiting.net.
A senior at Spanish River High School, Rodriguez has been a member of the Junior Fed Cup Team, and has earned a No. 17 ranking in the Florida Section. The Boca Raton native was selected as the 2007 Boca News Player of the Year and the 2005 Sun Sentinel Player of the Year. Meanwhile, she advanced to the finals of the 2007 Class 4A Division 1 singles draw. Rodriguez was named to the Palm Beach Post All-Area First Team as a sophomore when she went 10-1 with district and regional titles at No. 1 singles. She eventually reached the semifinals en route to helping her team claim the Class 4A state title, and also was a singles champion and a doubles finalist as a freshman. Rodriguez has participated in the USTA G18 National Championships, the National Clay Court Championships and the National Opens this season. She also posted four singles victories at the Florida Open Championships and reached the finals of the Seminole County Fall Sectional. Rodriguez has achieved a No. 66 national rating this year according to TennisRecruiting.net.
Yacaman began her playing career in Colombia and attended Jorge Washington School before moving to the United States and training at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton. She is currently enrolled at Boca Raton Preparatory High School for her senior year. While at Jorge Washington, she was named the 2005 Athlete of the Year. Yacaman also was selected as the Colombian Tennis Association Player of the Year in December 2005, and was No. 1 in the national rankings in the G12, G14 and G16 divisions. She then started competing in the International Tennis Federation Juniors and holds a No. 349 ranking, with hopes of eventually earning a WTA ranking. Yacaman was the doubles champion in Copenhagen ITF G4 and the Illinois ITF G4 in 2007, a finalist at the Bahaman ITF Tournament in 2006 and a semifinalist at the Arhus, Denmark ITF G4 and the Bermuda ITF Tournament last year as well. Yacaman has been listed as the No. 52 top recruit this year by TennisRecruiting.net.
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