Nov. 15, 2006
ATLANTA – Blue-Chip recruit Noelle Hickey, the top prep player from New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic according to TennisRecruiting.net, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at Georgia Tech beginning next year, Yellow Jacket head coach Bryan Shelton announced Wednesday.
“We are very excited about signing Noelle Hickey,” said Shelton. “She is clearly one of the top U.S. players, and I know that she is going to have an outstanding career here at Georgia Tech.”
Hickey is the nation’s 11th-ranked high school player and stands at No. 8 in the Tennis RPI, having competed well in several of the top national tournaments in 2006. She has captured the singles championship at the Copper Bowl, the L1 Easter Des. G 18 and the L1 Eastern Des. Closed BG 18 tournaments while advancing to the semifinals of The Florida Open BG 18-16 Championships and the quarterfinals of the USTA National Opens.
Hickey has posted an overall record of 57-15 in juniors, including an 18-10 mark against other Blue-Chip recruits. She has also gone 15-4 against five-star recruits and has posted a remarkable 24-1 record against all other opponents.
“It is very evident in watching Noelle that she is one of the best ball-strikers that we have ever signed,” added Shelton. “She’s got a great all-around game with a solid technical foundation, and I think that she is going to be a huge asset for us as we continue to build team chemistry, with the great personality that she has.”
A native of Hackensack, N.J., Hickey has spent the last year training at the Celsius Tennis Academy in Florida, but will graduate from Bergen County Academies in Hackensack this coming spring.
The Yellow Jackets will lose two strong players to graduation this coming spring in Alison Silverio and Tarryn Rudman, and will return six others.
