June 9, 2008

Moraga, CA - Saint Mary's women's tennis has earned an early nod on their 2008-09 recruiting class, as the threesome of Anna Chkhikvishvili, Molly Aloia, and Sabina Gunnarsson were named the No. 3 class within the Mid-Major institutions.

"This is a great recruiting class for us," said Alipaz. "The team will definitely benefit from the added depth and competition these three will bring."

TennisRecruiting.net presented the Top 25 Mid-Major Women's Recruiting Classes for 2008, with the list based on commitments reported on or before May 15, 2008. These mid-major rankings include all colleges in all divisions except for those in the so-called "major conferences". The major conferences for tennis include schools affiliated with Bowl Championship Series conferences - the ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, Pac 10, and SEC - as well as the Ivy League.

Sabina Gunnarsson will join the Gaels from Lidköping, Sweden, where she has experienced continuous success during her tennis career. Gunnarsson has been ranked a Top-10 player in Sweden since she was 12 years old, while also placing third in the European Championship Doubles.

Coming from San Diego, CA, Anna Chkhikvishvili joins the Gaels from Rancho Bernado High School. While playing for the Broncos Chkhikvishvili recorded multiple accolades, including First Team All-Palomar League, First Team All-CIF, and a third place finish in the CIF individual singles tournament.

Molly Aloia, the Temecula, CA native played a vital role on her Great Oak High School team, and has earned a four-star recruiting ranking by tennisrecruiting.net. Aloia is ranked the No. 28 best player in California (by the same site), and No. 33 in the Southwest. Aloia helped guide Great Oak to three conference titles, including a 20-1 season her junior year.

For the complete Top-25 list visit http://www.tennisrecruiting.net/article.asp?id=535