Photo by: Parker Waters
Women’s Tennis Inks Pair of Five-Star Signees to NLIs
Nov 15, 2018 | Women's Tennis
NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane women's tennis program has received signed National Letters of Intent from a pair of five-star recruits, Mackenzie Clark and Lahari Yelamanchili, according to an announcement by second-year head coach Maria Brito.
"This is definitely a huge signing class for us," Brito said. "It's more than just what these two young ladies have accomplished on paper. Their values and who they are as people is even more impressive. They are girls who want to make a difference in a program."
MACKENZIE CLARK
A Morristown, N.J. native, Clark is rated a five-star recruit by Tennisrecruiting.net and attends The Dwight School in New York, N.Y. She trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., ranking No. 3 in the state and is listed as the No. 77 overall player in the class of 2019.
Clark is a seven-time National Sportsmanship Award winner, including two Super Nationals and a 2017 USTA National Indoor Championships appearance. Reaching as high as No. 421 in the ITF rankings, she has also achieved a No. 45 national ranking as an amateur.
In November 2017 at the ACE Tennis U18 World Ranking Event Level 2 Championships in Burlington, Canada, she teamed up with Marcella Cruz to win the doubles draw. That came one year after reaching the finals in the same event. Ascending to a No. 4 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic Sectional rankings, Clark has been a doubles finalist at the 2017 Plantation ITF Championships, the 2017 ITF Wichita Falls Championships and the 2016 Advantage Tennis International at Veneto (Canada) ITF Junior Championships.
Clark's older sister, Lindsay, lettered four years at Yale University from 2007-11.
LAHARI YELAMANCHILI
Rated a five-star prospect by Tennisrecruiting.net, Yelamanchili is the No. 1 ranked player in Illinois and the No. 50 overall player in the class of 2019.
At Lyons Township High School in Chicago, she compiled a 54-2 combined singles record during her sophomore and junior years, which included capturing the 2016 IHSA Class 2A state title. In May 2018, she was named the Wintrust Athlete of the Week by NBC Sports Chicago and was later chosen to the 2018 USTA Junior Leadership Team.
Yelamanchili held a No. 1 U16 ranking in the Midwest region, where she won the Level 1 championship in 2016 and was later honored as a Helen Shockley Memorial Award Receipient for Junior Player of the Year. She was a U18 Midwest Level 1 finalist in singles in 2018 and reached the championship match of the Level 1 closed doubles tournament.
In doubles, Yelamanchili won the USTA National Level 2 crown with teammate Jaedan Brown in the U18 division in Erie Pennsylvania in February 2018.
"This is definitely a huge signing class for us," Brito said. "It's more than just what these two young ladies have accomplished on paper. Their values and who they are as people is even more impressive. They are girls who want to make a difference in a program."
MACKENZIE CLARK
A Morristown, N.J. native, Clark is rated a five-star recruit by Tennisrecruiting.net and attends The Dwight School in New York, N.Y. She trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., ranking No. 3 in the state and is listed as the No. 77 overall player in the class of 2019.
Clark is a seven-time National Sportsmanship Award winner, including two Super Nationals and a 2017 USTA National Indoor Championships appearance. Reaching as high as No. 421 in the ITF rankings, she has also achieved a No. 45 national ranking as an amateur.
In November 2017 at the ACE Tennis U18 World Ranking Event Level 2 Championships in Burlington, Canada, she teamed up with Marcella Cruz to win the doubles draw. That came one year after reaching the finals in the same event. Ascending to a No. 4 ranking in the Mid-Atlantic Sectional rankings, Clark has been a doubles finalist at the 2017 Plantation ITF Championships, the 2017 ITF Wichita Falls Championships and the 2016 Advantage Tennis International at Veneto (Canada) ITF Junior Championships.
Clark's older sister, Lindsay, lettered four years at Yale University from 2007-11.
LAHARI YELAMANCHILI
Rated a five-star prospect by Tennisrecruiting.net, Yelamanchili is the No. 1 ranked player in Illinois and the No. 50 overall player in the class of 2019.
At Lyons Township High School in Chicago, she compiled a 54-2 combined singles record during her sophomore and junior years, which included capturing the 2016 IHSA Class 2A state title. In May 2018, she was named the Wintrust Athlete of the Week by NBC Sports Chicago and was later chosen to the 2018 USTA Junior Leadership Team.
Yelamanchili held a No. 1 U16 ranking in the Midwest region, where she won the Level 1 championship in 2016 and was later honored as a Helen Shockley Memorial Award Receipient for Junior Player of the Year. She was a U18 Midwest Level 1 finalist in singles in 2018 and reached the championship match of the Level 1 closed doubles tournament.
In doubles, Yelamanchili won the USTA National Level 2 crown with teammate Jaedan Brown in the U18 division in Erie Pennsylvania in February 2018.
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Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
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