Tennessee’s Catherine Harrison Signs Grant-in-Aid to Join UCLA

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LOS ANGELES – Head UCLA women’s tennis coach Stella Sampras Webster announced the signing of yet another top U.S. player on Monday, as blue chip recruit Catherine Harrison (Germantown, Tenn.) recently completed a grant-in-aid to join the Bruins this fall.  Harrison is one of two top-flight players headed to Westwood in September, as Kyle McPhillips (Willoughby, Ohio), also a blue chip recruit, signed a letter-of-intent back in November.

"We couldn't be more excited about the addition of Catherine to our team," said Sampras Webster, who guided UCLA to a runner-up finish at this year’s NCAA Championships. "She has competed with a number of our players in the juniors so I have no doubt that she will fit right in.  Like many of our freshmen last year, Catherine has succeeded at the highest level of junior tennis.  Because of this, I believe that she will have a smooth transition to the college game.” 

Harrison, a recent graduate of the Lauren Springs School, signed her grant-in-aid in England where she was competing in singles and doubles at Junior Wimbledon.  She has also played in the junior draws at the Australian Open and U.S. Open, where she reached the quarterfinals in doubles (w/Samantha Crawford) in 2011.  Notable singles results for Harrison include winning the 18’s title at the Southern Sectionals (2010) and the Atlanta ITF (2011).  She also reached the 16’s final of the Junior Orange Bowl (2011), captured a silver ball at the Spring Nationals (2011), and took home a bronze ball at the USTA National Clay Courts (2010).  Harrison has also won National Open titles in three age groups (14s, 16s and 18s).  In addition to her silver ball in singles at the Spring Nationals, Harrison also notched a runner-up finish in doubles with current Bruin Kaitlin Ray.  She won a gold ball in doubles  (w/Hannah King) at the USTA National Hardcourts in 2010.

Harrison is currently listed as the No. 10 overall recruit in the class of 2012 (No. 1 in Tennessee) according to TennisRecruiting.net.  She is ranked just outside the top 100 junior players in the world, checking in at No. 107.  Her career-high ITF combined ranking is at No. 104.

In addition to her junior accomplishments, Harrison has played in a number of professional events on the ITF Women’s Circuit, reaching the finals at Amelia Island (10k) in 2010.  She also received a wild card to compete in the main draw at the 2011 Cellular South Cup, an annual event on the WTA Tour.

“We are going to have a very young team, but our players are experienced,” added Sampras Webster.  “With the additions of Catherine and Kyle, along with our returning players who accomplished so much this past season, we are looking forward to having an outstanding 2012-13 season."