Retolaza and Zhang Join Women's Tennis Recruiting Class
5/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
May 7, 2012
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Head women's tennis coach Jeff Wyshner announced today that Andrea Retolaza Andrade and Xue Zhang will enroll at Wake Forest and join the team in the fall.
Retolaza Andrade and Zhang join blue-chip recruit Kasey Gardiner, who signed in November, to form the Demon Deacons' highly regarded fall 2012 class, which was ranked as the 25th-best nationally in the Tennis Recruiting Network's winter rankings.
"We are really excited about the immediate impact our 2012 recruiting class will have on our team," said Wyshner. "All three have the ability and high-level tournament experience to vie for a spot in our starting line-up.
"Besides the contribution I know they will make to our on-court success, I am also excited to add three strong students and outstanding young women to our program. I know they will represent us with the class, determination and commitment to both their own and the program's success that I expect to be the hallmarks of an increasingly successful Wake Forest women's tennis program."
Retolaza Andrade comes to Wake Forest from Spain where she trained at the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona, which was founded by former top 10 pro Emilio Sanchez. She won the Catalonian 16 and under and 18 and under championships and was the top-ranked player from her home region of Galicia.
"Like many top players from overseas, Andrea faced a tough decision about whether to try to play professionally or to come to school. We are very excited that she has decided that college tennis can be a valuable next step in her tennis and personal development," said Wyshner. Andrea earned professional rankings as an amateur when she was just turning 16 years old, so she obviously has the game and experience to have an immediate and positive impact on our team next year. She has an aggressive game style that will make her successful in both singles and doubles, and having trained at the Sanchez-Casal Academy, she is very used to making the commitment necessary to improve while being a student-athlete."
Zhang has competed extensively on the ITF junior circuit and cracked the top 300 in the world in the junior rankings. A versatile player, the native of Weifang, China had success on the junior circuit in both singles and doubles.
"We are thrilled to have Xue commit to coming to Wake Forest. While she has been living and attending school in the States since sixth grade, she is a citizen of China so she has been limited in her opportunities to play USTA junior events, but she has done a great job competing in both ITF junior events and Pro Circuit events," said Wyshner. "That level of competition will certainly prepare her well for what she will face starting next fall. As a player, Xue has an extraordinary amount of potential. She has already had significant success, but with her ability to hit a big ball both off the ground and on the serve, she should continue to grow into her abilities."
Background:
Trained at Emilio Sanchez's Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona ... Won the Catalonian 16 and 18 and under championships ... Ranked in the top five of the Spanish Under-16 rankings and was the top-ranked player from the region of Galicia throughout her junior career ... Reached a peak WTA ranking of No. 1061 in the world
Personal:
Born in Vigo, Spain ... Daughter of Juan Retolaza and Vanesa Andrade ... Stepfather is Eduardo Nicolas
Background:
Ranked in the top 300 in the world in the ITF Junior Rankings ... Competed extensively on the ITF junior circuit, reaching one singles final, one semifinal and seven quarterfinals ... Also was successful in doubles, winning the title at the 2008 St. Maarten Junior Open, in addition to taking runner-up honors at the Jalisco Junior Cup in Mexico and the Naples (Fla.) ITF tournament
Personal:
Born July 23, 1994 in Weifang, China ... Daughter of Xuguang Zhang and Yingchun Xue
