Taylor Honored as UAA Rookie of the Year; Five Others Recognized on All-UAA Women’s Tennis Team

(ROCHESTER, N.Y.) – Freshman Danna Taylor (Orlando, Fla. / Circle Christian School) headlines six Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis players honored by the University Athletic Association (UAA). Taylor was named the UAA Women's Tennis Rookie of the Year as part of the 2019 All-UAA Women's Tennis Team. The freshman is joined by sophomore Melissa Strome (West Bloomfield, Mich. / West Bloomfield) and senior Jamie Vizelman (Highland Heights, Ohio / Mayfield) on the first team.

In addition to the three first-team honorees, juniors Vinaya Rao (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) and Courtney Ollis (Suffern, N.Y. / Suffern) were selected to the second team and freshman Janabelle Wu (San Jose, Calif. / Lynbrook) received honorable-mention accolades.

Taylor and Vizelman were both honored on the first team for their respective singles play in the first and second positions. Taylor tallied a regular season record of 26-8 with All-America recognition for winning the ITA Southeast Regional Championship. Vizelman recorded a 19-9 mark for the regular season. Taylor also received first-team honors in doubles play along with Strome for amassing a record of 16-9 in the regular season with an ITA Southeast Regional Championship and runner-up finish on the national stage.

Rao earned second-team honors at both third singles and second doubles with Ollis. Rao had a 9-7 singles record and paired with Ollis for a 14-4 doubles record in the regular season, including a 12-2 mark in the second position during dual-match play. Wu had a great first season for the Tartans with a 14-9 regular season singles record and 9-3 mark in dual matches at the fourth position, winning twice at the UAA Championship.

The Tartans won twice over the weekend in the second and third rounds of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals for the sixth time in program history. The Tartans will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Monday, May 20 at a time to be determined at Stowe Stadium on the campus of Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan.