University of North Texas Athletics
Photo by: Rowland Charles Goodman
Mean Green Tennis Signs Top European Talent
4/22/2020 12:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DENTON — North Texas head tennis coach Sujay Lama has signed one of Europe's top junior players to a National Letter of Intent in Matilde Magrini.
A native of Pesaro, Italy, Magrini ranks in the top 15 in her home country for juniors and has a national rating of 2.4. With that score her Universal Tennis Rating is between 10.3 and 10.8.
"What impressed us most about Matilde was her passion and love for the game of tennis and desire to play professional tennis after college," Lama said. "She has the physical tools and the talent but what really stood out was her drive and work ethic both on and off the court. We are very excited and happy to welcome Matilde to the Mean Green family."
Magrini joins a Mean Green tennis program that has reached the semifinals of nine of the last 10 conference tournaments including winning a league championship in 2010, 2012 and 2013. North Texas has been consistently one of the top programs in the state of Texas over the last decade. Two years ago, UNT claimed a regional doubles title and 2019 graduates Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze reached the NCAA Tournament.
Lama was named the USPTA Texas Coach of the Year in January.
Lama, who completed his 14th season as the Mean Green's head coach after 2019-20 and is UNT's all-time winningest tennis coach, has mentored his student-athletes to 28 all-conference honors. Furthermore, under his guidance, the program has constantly had a team grade point average north of 3.50. They've picked up Intercollegiate Tennis Association all-academic team honors for 11 consecutive seasons and for the past three years his teams have received NCAA awards for having an APR score in the top 10 percent of all DI women's tennis programs.
"I am so excited and I can't wait to meet and train with the team," said Magrini. "I chose UNT because I believe it fits my tennis goals perfectly and is a great place where I can achieve my academic goals as well. I found what I was looking for in the coaches and I am sure that I will find it also among my teammates."
A native of Pesaro, Italy, Magrini ranks in the top 15 in her home country for juniors and has a national rating of 2.4. With that score her Universal Tennis Rating is between 10.3 and 10.8.
"What impressed us most about Matilde was her passion and love for the game of tennis and desire to play professional tennis after college," Lama said. "She has the physical tools and the talent but what really stood out was her drive and work ethic both on and off the court. We are very excited and happy to welcome Matilde to the Mean Green family."
Magrini joins a Mean Green tennis program that has reached the semifinals of nine of the last 10 conference tournaments including winning a league championship in 2010, 2012 and 2013. North Texas has been consistently one of the top programs in the state of Texas over the last decade. Two years ago, UNT claimed a regional doubles title and 2019 graduates Maria Kononova and Tamuna Kutubidze reached the NCAA Tournament.
Lama was named the USPTA Texas Coach of the Year in January.
Lama, who completed his 14th season as the Mean Green's head coach after 2019-20 and is UNT's all-time winningest tennis coach, has mentored his student-athletes to 28 all-conference honors. Furthermore, under his guidance, the program has constantly had a team grade point average north of 3.50. They've picked up Intercollegiate Tennis Association all-academic team honors for 11 consecutive seasons and for the past three years his teams have received NCAA awards for having an APR score in the top 10 percent of all DI women's tennis programs.
"I am so excited and I can't wait to meet and train with the team," said Magrini. "I chose UNT because I believe it fits my tennis goals perfectly and is a great place where I can achieve my academic goals as well. I found what I was looking for in the coaches and I am sure that I will find it also among my teammates."
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/ Women's Tennis
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