COLUMBIA, Mo. - Mizzou tennis added to their future roster Wednesday with Turner Yates signing her National Letter of Intent, as announced by head coach Sasha Schmid. Ranked No. 1 in the state of Mississippi since the age of nine years old, Yates becomes the second Top-75 recruit to sign with the Tigers tennis program, joining incoming freshman Clare Raley.
"We are thrilled to announce the signing of Turner Yates today," Schmid said. "Turner will join our team in Aug. 2015. Through the recruiting process it became clear quickly that Turner was a terrific fit for our team in many ways. She is passionate about tennis and competing. I love her spunk and fight on the tennis court. She is from the heart of the south in Jackson, Miss. Turner grew up always wanting to play collegiate tennis in the Southeastern Conference (SEC)."
"We are so excited that she will take the court for the Mizzou Tigers over the course of the next four years. Turner is a talented tennis player. She's left-handed and versatile in both singles and doubles. Our current group of Mizzou tennis players adore her and she will be an excellent teammate to all who compete with her at Mizzou."
Yates has dominated the Mississippi junior circuit over the years and has gone undefeated in her age group her entire junior tennis career. She has also finished in the Top-15 rankings on numerous occasions and as high as No. 6 in the Southern section.
According to TennisRecruiting, Yates enters her final season as a five-star recruit and has been ranked as high as No. 70 in her recruiting class.
Yates earned the Mississippi State 5A High School Singles Championship her sophomore year, and was also named to the 2013 Mississippi State High School Hall of Fame for her tennis achievements.
Additional accolades of Yates include being named the 2014 Mississippi Female Junior Player of the Year, and also earning a big win over the No. 25 player in the NCAA at the 2014 Texas 10K event.
Turner is the daughter of Gene and Kendall Yates, and has one brother, Gene, and one sister, Ellie, who plays collegiate tennis for Vanderbilt.
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