DAVIS, Calif. — Head coach Bill Maze announced the early signing of three student-athletes from around California to National Letters of Intent (NLI) to join the women's tennis team in the fall of 2019.
"We couldn't be more excited about our 2019 signees," said Maze. "They are smart in the classroom and smart on the tennis court. Lauren Ko is extremely talented and understands the lost art of percentage doubles. Yana Gurevich is a lefty who won the singles and doubles titles at our UC Davis ITA Summer Championships. And Kristina Evloeva is an excellent Four Star Recruit from Southern California. We are looking forward to welcoming them to campus next fall!"
Information on the 2019 recruiting class listed below in alphabetical order:
KRISTINA EVLOEVA (Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar HS '19)
Playing high school tennis for two years for Corona Del Mar High School, Evloeva finished her senior season by reaching the semifinal round in the CIF Southern Section girl's doubles bracket, bettering a quarterfinal placing from the year before. Playing No. 1 doubles, Evloeva earned her team's MVP award after her 42-5 record, leading the Sea Kings to a semifinal appearance in the CIF Southern Section Playoffs. Evloeva hails from Tyumen, Russia, and moved to the US at 11 years old. A Four Star Recruit, she reached her highest Tennis Recruiting national ranking in 2018 of No. 91 in November, upholding her top-100 ranking since 2015. Garnering two Sunset League All-Academic honors, Evloeva has participated in Mathletes, and will enter UC Davis with an Undeclared major.
YANA GUREVICH (Los Gatos, Calif., Los Gatos HS '19)
Four Star Recruit Gurevich, from nearby Los Gatos, Calif., helped the Wildcats to a first place team finish in the CIF Northern California Regional Championships in 2018, finishing with three league and section titles, as well as winning the Central Coast Section doubles championship in a back-to-back fashion her junior and senior years. In addition to her high school career, Gurevich recently competed in a 2018 Oracle ITA Summer Circuit tournament hosted on the UC Davis campus, competing in both singles and doubles. Partnering with current Aggie Shirley Hall, Gurevich earned the impressive double crown, taking titles in both events. Gurevich has also competed at the Maccabiah Olympics in the Junior and Youth division, earning bronze medals in both doubles and mixed doubles, and the Maccabiah Pan-American Olympics, winning a gold medal in singles and doubles, and a bronze medal in mixed doubles. According to TennisRecruiting.net, Gurevich has bettered her ranking each year, moving from No. 367 in 2015 to a career-high No. 114 in December 2018. Participating in the National Honors Society at Los Gatos HS since 2016, Gurevich intends to major in Nutrition at UC Davis.
LAUREN KO (Temple City, Calif., Arcadia HS '19)
Ko, a Four Star Recruit out of Temple City, Calif., competed for Arcadia High School for four years, garnering four first place league team finishes, a team section championship, and highlighted a stellar individual high school career by recording her name in the history books at Arcadia. Not only did Ko win the program's first-ever CIF Southern Section doubles championship, but she won it three consecutive years with partner Michelle Deng. The duo became just the second team from any school to ever win three consecutive CIF-SS doubles titles. Ko has reached a career-high Tennis Recruiting ranking of No. 32 in the nation in 2015, and has maintained a top-75 ranking ever since, and enters UC Davis with an intended major of Managerial Economics.
The Aggies will start their 2019 dual season on the road, opening at Arizona State on Saturday, January 19th, at 11 AM, and against Northern Arizona on Sunday, January 20th at 11AM. Both matches will be played at the Arizona State campus in Tempe, Ariz.
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ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
AGGIE EVO
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
