April 25, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M signed two women's tennis players to National Letters of Intent during the spring signing period, completing what Aggie head coach Bobby Kleinecke considers to be one of the best recruiting classes in his 26-year coaching tenure.
Sun Wen (Dalian, China), the current No. 1-ranked junior college player in the United States and a sophomore at Tyler Junior College (TJC), and Dané Vorster (pronounced don-A vore-ster) of Brisbane, Australia, have signed with the Aggies and will join the team for the 2011-12 academic year, along with A&M early signee Janine Erasmus of Hoopstad, South Africa.
"We are extremely excited to add two more talented athletes to join our team in September," Kleinecke said. "They both have competed extensively at the highest level and have been very successful. Both of these young ladies will not only be great players, but they have shown great character that will make them great ambassadors of our team and Texas A&M. Along with Janine, who signed in the fall, we feel this could be on of the best recruiting classes we have ever had."
Wen, an All-American and the ITA Region II Rookie of the Year in 2010, won the NJCAA No. 2 singles national title and led TJC to its 14th team national championship trophy at the NJCAA tournament last spring. Behind Wen's play this season, the Lady Apaches are currently ranked No. 1 in the country and are favored to defend their national title this spring.
Wen, who long-time Lady Apache tennis coach John Peterson describes as possibly the best player to ever play for Tyler Junior College, was the regional and national champion in both singles and doubles at the 2010 USTA/ITA National Small College Championships last fall.
Before joining the Lady Apache squad, Wen qualified for the $25,000 Qian Shan (China) in 2008, as well as the $10,000 Goyang (South Korea) and the $10,000 Gimhae (South Korea).
"Sun will be coming in with individual and team junior college national championship titles and has proven she knows how to win," Kleinecke said. "She is tall and uses her height to her advantage. She plays an aggressive baseline game and is not afraid to go for her shots."
Vorster was the No. 1-ranked singles player in Queensland, Australia in the 15s, 16s and 17s age groups, as well as No. 2 in all of Australia in 17s. In addition, she was ranked as high as 53rd in the women's open division in Australia.
Vorster, who qualified for the WTA $25K Ipswich main draw in 2009, won several national and state titles in both singles and doubles and was a three-time Sportswomen of the Year at her high school, Northside Christian College.
"Dané has been amongst the top women players in Australia," Kleinecke said. "She has won national titles during her junior career in both singles and doubles, and she is a fierce competitor who plays very aggressive."
"I am very excited about coming to Texas A&M and to be an Aggie," Vorster said. "Texas A&M University is so unique in its history and traditions, and it makes me really proud to be a part of the Aggie family. Visiting A&M demonstrated that it provides world-class training facilities and programs with a great coaching and support team not only on the tennis court but in the academic department, too. I am thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to represent Texas A&M on the court and to be a student athlete. I know it will open doors for me in the future. My dream is to be a professional tennis player, and I believe that the program and being a student-athlete will provide me with all the experience, skill and support to get there."