June 3, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – For the third time in four years, the Vanderbilt women’s tennis program is bringing in a top-15 recruiting class. Despite only signing one student-athlete to a National Letter of Intent, VU’s 2009 class was recently tabbed as the No. 12 class in the country by TennisRecruiting.net. VU’s recruiting class ranks second among Southeastern Conference teams, trailing only Florida (No. 6). The Commodores were ranked the highest of any team that signed only one player.
Earlier this fall Alison Riske, one of the nation’s top junior players, signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Commodores starting in the fall of 2009. The McMurray, Pa. native is the younger sister of former Vanderbilt four-time All-American Sarah Riske.
The younger Riske has been tabbed as blue-chip recruit by TennisRecruiting.net, marking the third consecutive season that head coach Geoff Macdonald has brought in a blue-chip recruit. The Peters Township standout earned the nation’s No. 1 ranking in Girls 18s in 2007 and has been considered one of the nation’s top junior players since the age of 15. In the latest Sony Ericsson WTA Pro Circuit rankings, Riske was ranked No. 501 in singles and No. 587 in doubles.
Riske only played one year of high school tennis before turning her focus to juniors. As a sophomore, Riske led her team to the Pennsylvania State Championship title while capturing the individual state championship after losing a total of only three games at the state championship.
Riske will join a hopper of stocked talent next fall as Vanderbilt returns nearly 90 percent of its firepower from a year ago. The Commodores return five of the six players that started most of the year in singles play.