Nov. 28, 2011
Siena women's tennis has signed a pair of current high school seniors to its class of 2016. Allysa Singh and Maria Varano will head to Loudonville in August, representing the states of Arizona and Maine.
A three-star recruit on tennisrecruiting.net, Singh is ranked seventh in the state of Arizona and 67th in the Southwest by the USTA. She has gone 16-10 in USTA Tournament play, and has conducted herself with the highest possible character in the process, winning four different sportsmanship awards from 2006 to 2011.
"All the junior sportsmanship awards that Allysa has accumulated from USTA speak about her and how she contacts herself among her peers, coaches, and USTA tournament directors," said Siena women's tennis coach Andy Christodoulou. "Everyone in the USTA Southwest Conference knows what Alyssa is all about: Playing hard every point and at the same time maintaining an on-court personality that is exculpatory and according to the highest sportsmanship standards."
Singh is described by Christodoulou as a player who can stretch the court and attack at the first opportunity. She is a Siena College Presidential Scholar, and she plans to major in Computer Science.
"She is a very consisted all court player that hits deep into the court with topspin from both sides," Christodoulou said. "She competes in a lot of USTA tournaments and has extensive experience."
The reigning Maine state singles champion, Varano went 18-0 in 2011 for Kennebunk High School, and is ranked ninth in New England by the USTA. Also a three-star recruit, she's gone 25-18 in USTA tournament play.
"Maria is a quality person that will thrive at the Siena College environment," Christodoulou said. "She has leadership qualities that I expect to blossom over the years. Maria stays focused on the task at hand and never lets a few misses spoil her game."
A Daniel Cardillo Scholarship recipient since 2009, Varano plans to major in Political Science. She took her recruiting process slowly, and visited Siena three times before she committed to the Saints.
"Maria is a wonderful young lady and very methodical and analytical on everything she does," Christodoulou said. "She is very mature and a thinker on and off the court. She did not leave one question go unanswered."
Singh and Varano will replace a class that includes longtime singles stalwart Jasleen Sandhu, but Christodoulou remains ecstatic and is optimistic about what the future holds for Siena women's tennis.
"This class will be a large class when we are done recruiting and it will be the foundation of our program for the next four years," he said. "I am so excited to get all of our new commitments on campus and go to work. Above all, these two women are very good students and work hard in the classroom as well as on the court and they will be the pillars of the team for the next four years."
