Dec. 2, 2005
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State women's tennis head coach Peter Mattera announced today the signing of Milana Yusupov, Kathryn Kitts and Ozge Atalay to National Letters of Intent. Yusupov will join the Aztecs this upcoming spring, while Kitts and Atalay will arrive at SDSU in the fall of 2006.
Yusupov, from Holon, Israel, is currently ranked No. 7 in Israel and has been a member of the Israeli National Tennis Team for the last three years. She will arrive on Montezuma Mesa this spring in time for the Aztecs' dual-match season.
"We are really looking forward to having Milana join us for the spring semester as we begin our dual-match season," Mattera said. "She is very athletic and I anticipate she will be able to step in and have an immediate and positive impact on our team."
Kitts, a native of Yardley, Pa., brings impressive credentials to San Diego State. She is currently the No. 148 player in the nation in the Girls 18 singles division and has been ranked as high as No. 8 in the Middle States Region of the United States Tennis Association (USTA). In 2004, Kitts was a doubles finalist at the Girls 16 Supernationals in San Diego. Just recently, she captured the New Jersey State Championship. She is currently competing at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart on both the tennis and basketball teams where she has been an all-state performer.
Atalay, from Istandul, Turkey, is a senior at St. George Austrian High School. She is ranked among the top three in Turkey and has been a member of the Turkish National Team for five years. Atalay has won numerous single and doubles titles in Turkey and has been competing at the highest level of junior tennis in her native country since the age of 12.
"I am very excited about adding Kathryn and Ozge to our program beginning in the fall of 2006," Mattera said. "Both of them have played the at the highest level of competition available in their respective countries and they should both really assist us in maintaining our position as a national power in Division I tennis.
"Both of these young ladies come with outstanding academic credentials and they should fit in well at San Diego State as incredible student-athletes."