Ines Vias signed with University of Illinois and will play for Head Coach Michelle Dasso
Today marks the first occasion in which the Class of 2015 can ink National Letters of Intent for the following sports: basketball, wrestling, swimming and diving, lacrosse, volleyball, rowing, gymnastics, softball, golf, hockey, baseball and of course tennis. The early signing period for these sports ends November 19. Athletes (with the exception of basketball recruits) will still have until August 1 if they do not commit at this time.
As expected, there has been a flurry of activity including commitments from four Junior Tennis Champions Center student-athletes:
Ines Vias: University of Illinois
A five-star recruit according to Tennis Recruiting Network, Vias is the latest JTCC alum to join Illinois. Last year, Aaron Hiltzik joined his brother and signed with the Fighting Illini.
In her ninth season at the helm, Head Coach Michelle Dasso guided the team to a 14-10 overall record and 6-6 in the conference. In 2012-2013, she produced the second and third All-Americans in program history and the first in 20 years. The year prior, the squad featured three All-Big Ten honorees, the most in program history. At her alma mater of Notre Dame, Dasso captured the ITA’s National Senior Player of the Year award in 2001 and was the program’s first four-time All-American. She tops the Irish record books in several statistical categories, including career singles victories (140), most career wins at No. 1 singles (67), season singles victories (40) and combined season victories (74).
Lilly Lynham: Georgetown
The Washington Post covered Lilly signing with her hometown Hoyas here.
Jason Kros: Virginia Tech
A Fairfax, Virginia native, Kros verbally committed to the Hokies in September. In the past eight seasons, Head Coach Jim Thompson has led the team to the NCAA tournament. During the 2012-13 campaign, the Hokies defeated seven ranked teams including a first round upset of No. 22 Michigan in the NCAA tournament. The squad featured ACC Freshman of the Year Amerigo Contini.
Yancy Dennis: South Carolina
Yancy will join fellow JTCC alum Thomas Mayronne on the Gamecocks squad. The blue chip recruit relayed to Tennis Recruiting Network that he immediately felt comfortable during his campus visit. “During my visit, I was able to relate to the players on the team quite well. But more importantly [Head Coach Josh Goffi] played a huge factor – along with [Assistant Coach Ryan Young]. Both were very professional – and were interested in me not only as a tennis player but also as a person.” Dennis continued, “I want to improve my tennis game significantly in order to progress toward my goal of becoming a professional player – while maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA.”
Information from the following Athletic Departments were used in this post: University of Illinois, Virginia Tech and University of South Carolina.
