Taylor Honored as ITA Rookie of the Year

(TEMPE, Ariz.) – Prior to the 2019 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships beginning on Friday, May 24, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) announced that Carnegie Mellon University women's tennis freshman Danna Taylor (Orlando, Fla. / Circle Christian School) was the ITA Women's Rookie of the Year. Taylor was chosen as the top freshman in the Atlantic-South and stood out among the three other regional honorees to become the second Tartan to earn the national award.

Taylor compiled a singles record of 29-10 and a doubles record of 26-13 while winning the ITA Southeast Regional Championship and ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Championship. The first-year Tartan played first singles and doubles and finished second in the nation in doubles play and fifth in singles play at the ITA Cup in the fall. Taylor closed her rookie campaign with the school record for most singles wins by a freshman and the most matches played with 39. She also ties the school record for singles wins in a season with Laura Chen, who reached 29 wins as a junior in the 2010-11 season.

At the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships, Taylor won her first-round match in three sets against Nicole Tan of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges before falling in the Round of 16. In doubles play, Taylor and sophomore Melissa Strome (West Bloomfield, Mich. / West Bloomfield) exited the tournament in the Round of 16.

Taylor also earned University Athletic Association (UAA) Rookie of the Year honors and was named to the first team in both singles and doubles.

By her finishes in the fall, Taylor earned All-America recognition from the ITA in both singles and doubles joining Amy Staloch (2004-05) and Laura Chen (2008-09) as the only Tartans to achieve both honors in their first season.