@MizzouTennis Signs Portuguese Star Oliveira
4/18/2017 2:43:00 PM | Tennis
Marta Oliveira joins Ellie Wright in Mizzou’s Class of 2017
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Tennis head coach Colt Gaston announced the signing of Marta Oliveira, who joins Ellie Wright in the Tigers' Class of 2017. After signing her National Letter of Intent, Oliveira confirmed her commitment to pursue her athletic and academic career at the University of Missouri, beginning next fall.
Oliveira, a native of Lisbon, Portugal, has been ranked as high No. 204 in the International Tennis Federation Junior World Rankings and No. 994 professionally in the Women's Tennis Association doubles rankings.
"I am very excited to have Marta coming on board next year," Gaston said. "She is a great person and has proved herself to be one of the best junior tennis players in the world. Her desire to play professionally and develop her game to the next level is something I believe will help us keep building the culture within this program. Even more importantly, she is a good student and excels off the court as well. She will be a great fit for the Mizzou Tennis program and I see her impacting this team right away."
As an amateur, Oliveira won the Cantanhede Ladies Open, an official $10,000 ITF pro circuit tournament, in 2016. She also racked up 12 ITF doubles titles on the junior circuit and was a semifinalist in three ITF junior singles tournaments.
Oliveira is one of the top talents in Portugal in her age group. She was ranked No. 1 in the country in the U18 rankings, captured U12 and U14 national singles championships and was a U16 national finalist. Oliveira added national doubles championships at all age levels.
Oliveira plans to study health sciences at Mizzou and pursue a career in physiotherapy after her tennis career concludes.
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