University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Add First Signee of 2017 Class
November 09, 2016 | Women's Tennis
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee women’s tennis team inked its first signee of the 2017 class Wednesday in Chelsea Sawyer.
Sawyer, a native of Clemmons, N.C., is the No. 2 overall player from North Carolina and is rated as the No. 82 player in the country for her class according to TennisRecruiting.com.
“We are so excited for her to become part of the program,” head coach Mike Patrick said. “She is a great competitor and has the potential to be a very good player in the SEC.“
In October, Sawyer won the singles title at the Cary Tennis Park Classic in North Carolina. She is currently a senior at the Randy Pate Tennis Academy.
“I am absolutely thrilled Chelsea has signed with us today,” assistant coach Alison Ojeda said. “As a former player myself at the University of Tennessee, I would have loved to have had Chelsea as a teammate. Her character on and off the court is first class, and I know she has what it takes to be a champion. Coach Pate and his Academy have done an excellent job preparing her for life as a Tennessee Vol. I can't wait to get to work with her.”
Sawyer is expected to enroll and compete next fall.
The Vols will be back in action to compete in the Michigan Invite on Jan. 14-16 in Ann Arbor. After that, the team will return home the following weekend to begin team play with doubleheaders against Air Force and Middle Tennessee on Saturday and Wake Forest and Chattanooga on Sunday.
For the most up-to-date information about the Tennessee women’s tennis program, follow @Vol_WTennis on Twitter.
