Women's Tennis | December 18

DeKALB, Ill. – Northern Illinois University women's tennis head coach Eric Burns announced the signing of Spain's Lucia Yecora for 2024-25 on Monday. 
 
An accomplished singles and doubles player throughout her junior career, Yecora has attained a ranking of 1072 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) singles ranking and has been ranked as high as 1063 in the Women's Tennis Association doubles rankings.
 
"We are really excited to sign a quality player and person like Lucia," Burns said. "In talking with her coach and everyone helping her in the process, it was clear that she was a perfect fit for our program. She brings a strong work ethic and desire to improve her game, which is key for our program as we continue to build our culture to compete for MAC championships. We need people who want to grind daily on the court and who are hungry to get better."
 
Yecora comes to NIU from Seville, Spain where she trains with the Andalusian Tennis Federation and attends IES V Centenario School.
 
In singles, she has reached the quarterfinals in four ITF junior events, including three times in 2023. In doubles, Yecora and her sister reached the semifinals of the W25k professional tournament in Seville in 2022 and won ITF junior doubles titles at J100 El Prat de Llobregat and J30 Porto.  The duo also reached the finals in four additional ITF junior tournaments.
 
"Lucia has had great success in doubles and has achieved a WTA ranking, which is impressive and will improve our doubles line-up," Burns said. "I believe her style of play will be perfect for our team and I'm looking forward to working with her. She has big goals of playing after college, so we want to do everything we can do to prepare and help her reach her goals."
 
Yecora is the second player to sign with NIU for 2024-25, joining Theodora Kousiou, a native of Thessaloniki, Greece. 
 
The NIU women's tennis team opens its 2024 dual match schedule on Saturday, January 20 when the Huskies play host to Wisconsin at the Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House.
 
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