North Carolina State University Athletics
Women’s Tennis Adds Alana Smith
11/15/2017 11:29:00 AM | Women's Tennis
RALEIGH, N.C. – Alana Smith has signed a National Letter of Intent to join the NC State women's tennis team for the 2018-19 season, as announced by head coach Simon Earnshaw Wednesday.
"Alana has been a target for the program for a long time now," said Earnshaw. "Her coach, Rozzell Lightfoot, has done an incredible job building a rock solid foundation for her game and we are looking forward to working with him to help Alana approach what is her considerable potential. I've been so impressed throughout this recruiting process with the commitment to Alana's future and tennis, the investment level has been complete which resonates with our desire to drive NC State women's tennis forward. In addition during Alana's visit her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the history of NC State was just so impressive that I'm absolutely confident this is the right fit. We are very fortunate to have Alana as part of the Wolfpack family, she has big future ahead of her in this league and beyond. Go Pack!"
Bio
Smith is from Fort Washington, Maryland, and is the daughter of Alena Neves and has a twin brother Philip. Smith's lifelong coach is Rozzell Lightfoot. Her main interests are football and basketball and she's an avid Washington Redskins fan. Alana will enroll at NC State in the Fall of 2018.
WTA Singles Ranking: 1124 Doubles Ranking: 774
Recently achieved her 1st WTA points in singles & doubles. Made the Semi-finals of the $60K Red Rock Pro Open in Doubles. In singles qualifying at the same event beat 2017-18 NCAA I/ITA Preseason #1 ranked singles player Ena Shibahara (UCLA) before losing to former world #14 Elena Bovina in a 3rd set tiebreaker.
Highest ITF World Junior ranking of #122 in February 2017.
Competed in the singles qualifying at the Australian Open and Wimbledon Juniors this year. Has an 89-48 record in ITF Junior doubles events, winning 8 ITF Junior Doubles titles including the 2017 Costa Rica Bowl ITF & NZ ITF Summer Championships. Was the Singles Champion at the 2016 Bank of Bermuda ITF and this summer the Singles & Doubles runner-up at the International Grass Courts ITF in Philadelphia. In August 2016 Alana reached the quarter finals of the Prince Georges County G1 ITF in her hometown tournament.
She has been a blue-chip recruit with a highest ranking of #17 according to Tennisrecruiting.net earlier this year in the Class of 2018. She is currently a five-star recruit ranked #34 and is the highest ranked recruit in Maryland.
Why She Chose NC State
"I chose NC state for several reasons," she explained. "One was the coaching staff combination of Simon Earnshaw and David Secker. They are very knowledgeable and I believe they will continue to develop my game and take me to the next level! I loved the campus and found that the facility is exceptional. I really enjoyed meeting the team even though I already knew some of them from the ITF circuit so that was cool. Everyone made me feel welcome and at home. I look forward to joining the team and being part of the Wolfpack!"
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State women's tennis:
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
"Alana has been a target for the program for a long time now," said Earnshaw. "Her coach, Rozzell Lightfoot, has done an incredible job building a rock solid foundation for her game and we are looking forward to working with him to help Alana approach what is her considerable potential. I've been so impressed throughout this recruiting process with the commitment to Alana's future and tennis, the investment level has been complete which resonates with our desire to drive NC State women's tennis forward. In addition during Alana's visit her enthusiasm for and knowledge of the history of NC State was just so impressive that I'm absolutely confident this is the right fit. We are very fortunate to have Alana as part of the Wolfpack family, she has big future ahead of her in this league and beyond. Go Pack!"
Bio
Smith is from Fort Washington, Maryland, and is the daughter of Alena Neves and has a twin brother Philip. Smith's lifelong coach is Rozzell Lightfoot. Her main interests are football and basketball and she's an avid Washington Redskins fan. Alana will enroll at NC State in the Fall of 2018.
WTA Singles Ranking: 1124 Doubles Ranking: 774
Recently achieved her 1st WTA points in singles & doubles. Made the Semi-finals of the $60K Red Rock Pro Open in Doubles. In singles qualifying at the same event beat 2017-18 NCAA I/ITA Preseason #1 ranked singles player Ena Shibahara (UCLA) before losing to former world #14 Elena Bovina in a 3rd set tiebreaker.
Highest ITF World Junior ranking of #122 in February 2017.
Competed in the singles qualifying at the Australian Open and Wimbledon Juniors this year. Has an 89-48 record in ITF Junior doubles events, winning 8 ITF Junior Doubles titles including the 2017 Costa Rica Bowl ITF & NZ ITF Summer Championships. Was the Singles Champion at the 2016 Bank of Bermuda ITF and this summer the Singles & Doubles runner-up at the International Grass Courts ITF in Philadelphia. In August 2016 Alana reached the quarter finals of the Prince Georges County G1 ITF in her hometown tournament.
She has been a blue-chip recruit with a highest ranking of #17 according to Tennisrecruiting.net earlier this year in the Class of 2018. She is currently a five-star recruit ranked #34 and is the highest ranked recruit in Maryland.
Why She Chose NC State
"I chose NC state for several reasons," she explained. "One was the coaching staff combination of Simon Earnshaw and David Secker. They are very knowledgeable and I believe they will continue to develop my game and take me to the next level! I loved the campus and found that the facility is exceptional. I really enjoyed meeting the team even though I already knew some of them from the ITF circuit so that was cool. Everyone made me feel welcome and at home. I look forward to joining the team and being part of the Wolfpack!"
Stay up to date with the latest on NC State women's tennis:
Twitter: @PackWTennis
Facebook: NC State Women's Tennis
Instagram: @PackWTennis
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