Rielley Chooses Irish:: The Tennis Recruiting Network

Rielley Chooses Irish:: The Tennis Recruiting Network~~~

With the ITA Individual Indoor beginning Thursday in Columbus Ohio, college tennis is back in the spotlight and Notre Dame has emerged as an understudy ready for a starring role.

First, unexpectedly, two members of the men's tennis team at Notre Dame met in the finals of the ITA Midwest Regional last weekend; the details are here, courtesy of the Observer.

And the women's team has reason for optimism next year, when Colleen Rielley joins the Fighting Irish. Rielley gave Easter Bowl champion Alexa Glatch her toughest match in their first round battle in Palm Springs earlier this year, and her record against players ranked below her is an astounding 66-0. Julie Wrege of TennisRecruiting.net provides details on Rielley's decision, and although it may at first glance seem that Rielley made the obvious choice, with her father a tennis playing alum of the South Bend university, there's plenty of evidence that she thoroughly investigated her other options before committing to Notre Dame.

Stanford remains the powerhouse of women's college tennis, but with a few more recruits like Rielley, Notre Dame could emerge as a national title contender.