BATON ROUGE – LSU women’s tennis head coach Julia S. Sell announced on Monday she has received the signed Southeastern Conference scholarship papers for transfer women’s tennis player Skylar Kuykendall from Jasper, Alabama.
“We are excited to welcome Skylar into the Tiger family,” said Sell. “She comes to us with a lot of experience and leadership that will add instant value to our young team.”
Kuykendall joins the Lady Tigers after two seasons at the University of Memphis. The transfer garnered a 44-29 overall record, which included wins over Ole Miss’ then No. 39 Caroline Rohde-Moe 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 and Georgia’s then No. 76 Makenzie Craft 6-0, 6-2.
During her freshman year, Kuykendall posted a 28-9 mark in dual match singles, earning her the 2013 Conference USA Freshman of the Year award and a selection to the C-USA Third Team in singles. She went on an 11-match win-streak, which began with a victory over Virginia’s then No. 92 Li Xi 7-6 (3), 7-5.
In 2014, Kuykendall garnered her first win on court one as she topped VCU’s then No. 73 Cindy Chala in a come-from-behind three-setter 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. She then went on to clinch the match over Louisville with a 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Julia Fellerhoff.
Kuykendall joined the Memphis roster as a four-star recruit from the United Tennis Academy in Bradenton, Florida, according to tennisrecruiting.net. She was ranked as high as No. 53 nationally and posted a 4-1 record against four-star opponents with one win over a five-star opponent.
Kuykendall joins the Lady Tigers with Amanda Atanasson and Madara Straume to complete the 2014-15 recruiting class.
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