Former University of Georgia Standout Lilly Kimbell Dies at 31; Stanford Women's Recruiting Class Tops TRN's Winter Rankings; Frodin Sweeps Titles at J100 in Mexico; Keiser Men and Women Claim Inaugural NAIA Team Indoor Championships

I look forward to my Monday post each week as a place to highlight the top ITF Junior Circuit performances in the smaller events the previous week, but today's post starts with the sad news that former University of Georgia standout Lilly Kimbell has passed away at the age of 31.

The social media posts I've seen from family and friends mentioned kidney issues and then a heart attack, the consequences of which led her to be taken off life support. 

Kimbell, who trained at the Newcombe Academy in New Braunfels,  was one of the best Texas High School tennis players ever, winning four individual state titles, and she won both the Orange Bowl 16s and the USTA National 16s in 2007. One of the many times I spoke to Kimbell after a big win came in 2008, when she beat top seed Christina McHale to reach the quarterfinals at the USTA Spring Nationals in Mobile AL.

One of the top recruits in the class of 2010, Kimbell chose Georgia, and was an integral part of the team that reached four straight NCAA team quarterfinals from 2011 through 2014.

Kimbell recently coached at both Eastern Illinois and St. Mary's. When she was hired as an assistant at St. Mary's in June of 2021, the Division II school in San Antonio's headline read "Local Legend Joins Coaching Staff."

It's impossible to make sense of such a tragic loss; I know the tennis community grieves with her family, her former teammates and her friends.

The Tennis Recruiting Network's Women's 2023 Class rankings don't seem too important now, but they were published today, with Stanford taking the top spot in the winter rankings. The Cardinal, who have Eleana Yu and Katherine Hui joining them in the fall, beat out Vanderbilt, who have commitments from Valeria Ray and Canadian Kayla Cross. Harvard, Georgia and Central Florida round out the Top Five. The full list of the Top 25 recruiting classes can be found here.

Fourteen-year-old Thea Frodin won her first two ITF Junior Circuit titles at the J100(former J3) in Morelos Mexico, taking both the singles and doubles championships.

Frodin, of Woodland Hills California, qualified for the main draw then took all six matches in straight sets, beating No. 8 seed Taly Licht of Florida 7-6(4), 6-2 in the final. Frodin and 2022 Orange Bowl 16s doubles champion Kenzie Nguyen also were unseeded in doubles, but again came out on top, beating No. 5 seeds Sara Alba Verastegui of Colombia and Candela Vazquez of Argentina 6-3, 7-5 in the final. 

The other ITF Junior Circuit title (not including the four won at the J300 in Ecuador) for Americans came at the J60 in Nepal, with Aarav Samrat Hada of the United States partnering with Aki Zuben Rawat of Nepal for the boys doubles title. The No. 3 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Smit Nileshbhai Patel and Debasis Sahoo of India 3-6, 7-5, 10-8 in the final. It's the third ITF Junior Circuit doubles title for the 15-year-old Hada.

The first NAIA ITA Team Indoor Championships concluded Sunday in Overland Park Kansas with Keiser taking both the men's and women's titles. Both teams were the No. 2 seeds and both took out No. 1 seeds Georgia Gwinnett in the championship matches.

The Keiser men ended the astounding 173-match winning streak of Georgia Gwinnett with a 4-3 victory. The Keiser women snapped the 63-match winning streak of Georgia Gwinnett in their 4-3 win in the final. Former top juniors Elyse Lavender and Violet Apisah play the No. 1 and No. 2 positions for Keiser, located in West Palm Beach Florida.