SALT LAKE CITY – The University of Utah women’s tennis head coach, Ric Mortera, has officially announced the addition of Ana Cruz. She is set to join the Utes for the 2023-24 season.
“Ana is the exact player and person that we were hoping to get in this signing period,” Mortera said. “She is a terrific leader both on and off the court and will bring so much value to our program. She is coming to us with a lot of experience and success and will have an immediate positive impact. We absolutely cannot wait to get her here and to begin working with her towards our collective goals both for her and the program.”
Cruz comes to Utah as a graduate transfer from the University of South Carolina, where she recorded the third most singles wins on the team. In her senior year she posted a 15-12 singles record and went 3-2 in the SEC. She posted a 20-14 overall doubles record while posting a 15-8 record with partner Allie Gretkowski. The Gamecocks duo posted five wins at the No. 2 spot and seven wins at the No. 3 spot.
As a junior, Cruz led South Carolina with 21 doubles wins on the year, 15 of which came in dual matches. She played in the No. 6 spot in dual matches. Her and partner Ayana Akli finished with a 14-5 record in doubles. They had a seven match winning streak and played in the No. 1 spot.
She was an ITA Scholar-Athlete in 2020 and 2021 and made the SEC Academic Honor roll in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Prior to her four seasons at South Carolina she was ranked as the No. 36 recruit in the nation with a UTR of 10.76. She was rated No. 1 in her home country of Brazil. She represented Brazil two times in the Junior Fed Cup in 2016 and 2017. She took home the singles and doubles titles at the JB1 Sao Paulo in Brazil and also competed at the junior grand slams of the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open on her way to an ITF Junior Ranking of #60.
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