Univ. of Georgia Team Page

ATHENS, Ga.--Ayaka Okuno has signed a national letter-of-intent to attend the University of Georgia, Georgia head coach Jeff Wallace announced Friday.

The Osaka, Japan native is the 28th-ranked juniors player in the world and will join signees Mia King and Silvia Garcia in Athens for the start of the 2013 dual match season.

"We're thrilled that Ayaka is going to be joining our program," said head coach Jeff Wallace. "We're excited to start working with her. She's going to be a great part of the team this season. We're fired up that she's going to be a member of the team."

Most recently, Okuno won the Japan Open Junior Championships. She also reached the semi-finals of the Asia/Oceania Championships and the World Super Junior Championships. She also participated in the Junior French Open, Junior U.S. Open and Wimbledon Championships. In 2010, Okuno was the third-ranked U-14 juniors player in the world.

"I'm so excited to be a Georgia Bulldog and to be part of the team," said Okuno. "The Bulldog family has so much energy and I know that I'm going to have a blast."

Okuno, the daughter of Megumi and Takashi Okuno, trains at the Sylvano Tennis Academy and is coached by Sylvano Simone.

Georgia kicks off play in 2013 with the Georgia Invitational Jan. 18-20. The invitational will be held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex and admission will be free.