University of North Texas Athletics
Tennis Signs Top Prospect
5/25/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DENTON – The North Texas women's tennis team and head coach Sujay Lama on Monday added one of India's top young talents to its team.
Incoming freshman Likhitha Kalava signed with the Mean Green and brings with her a top 20 national ranking, an ITF women's career best ranking of No. 700 and a WTA career best ranking of 1227.
"As a young girl I have always been a team player and thrived in that environment and the University of North Texas team provides the perfect base for me to expand my capacity as a tennis player since it is a school with a great tennis team run by passionate coaches," said Kalava. "The University of North Texas is well-known worldwide for helping students in all aspects and providing the best facilities in sports and education, which is going to help me achieve my goals as it would give me the opportunity to fulfill both my interests simultaneously."
Kalava comes to Denton from Hyderabad, India. She's had a UTR ranking as high as 10.21 and beat a top 50 junior and junior Australian open semifinalist.
In 2017 at the age of 14, she won the National Series for the 16 and under age group. She also reached the Grade 5 ITF Doubles Final in Thailand.
Also in 2017, she was elected captain for her under 17 state team. They went on to win gold for both their respective district and state. It was that team experience that drew Kalava to America to play college tennis. She hopes to help lead UNT and grow individually on and off the court as well.
"From the first interaction we had with her, Likhitha truly stood out," said head coach Sujay Lama. "She is a very confident woman with very clear goals. We believe she will thrive in this college environment as she has proven over the last weeks that she has great character and is a team player. Likhitha brings a wealth of experience combining junior and professional tournaments and backs it up with solid wins over top 50 ITF junior players. Both coach Rodrigo and I are extremely happy to welcome Likhitha to our Mean Green family and look forward to mentoring her as she develops into the best person and player she can be."
She plans on studying interior design at UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design.
Incoming freshman Likhitha Kalava signed with the Mean Green and brings with her a top 20 national ranking, an ITF women's career best ranking of No. 700 and a WTA career best ranking of 1227.
"As a young girl I have always been a team player and thrived in that environment and the University of North Texas team provides the perfect base for me to expand my capacity as a tennis player since it is a school with a great tennis team run by passionate coaches," said Kalava. "The University of North Texas is well-known worldwide for helping students in all aspects and providing the best facilities in sports and education, which is going to help me achieve my goals as it would give me the opportunity to fulfill both my interests simultaneously."
Kalava comes to Denton from Hyderabad, India. She's had a UTR ranking as high as 10.21 and beat a top 50 junior and junior Australian open semifinalist.
In 2017 at the age of 14, she won the National Series for the 16 and under age group. She also reached the Grade 5 ITF Doubles Final in Thailand.
Also in 2017, she was elected captain for her under 17 state team. They went on to win gold for both their respective district and state. It was that team experience that drew Kalava to America to play college tennis. She hopes to help lead UNT and grow individually on and off the court as well.
"From the first interaction we had with her, Likhitha truly stood out," said head coach Sujay Lama. "She is a very confident woman with very clear goals. We believe she will thrive in this college environment as she has proven over the last weeks that she has great character and is a team player. Likhitha brings a wealth of experience combining junior and professional tournaments and backs it up with solid wins over top 50 ITF junior players. Both coach Rodrigo and I are extremely happy to welcome Likhitha to our Mean Green family and look forward to mentoring her as she develops into the best person and player she can be."
She plans on studying interior design at UNT's College of Visual Arts and Design.
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