Chicago State University women's tennis announced today the signing of Marnie Perez (Louisville, Ky.) to play for the Cougars beginning with the upcoming 2012-13 school year.
Perez has a bi-cultural background as she was born in Ciudad Juarez in the state of Chihuahua, Mexico and lived there until she was eight years old before moving with her mother to Louisville. She is bilingual speaking fluent Spanish.
“Words cannot express how happy I am to have Marnie on the team. She is fantastic young lady off the court but when she is on the court….she means business!!!”, CSU head coach Jack Barton stated. “She plays hard, she trains hard, and she takes everything she does very seriously. I have watched her grow as a person, a student, and player since 2006 and Marnie's potential in unlimited and she knows it. She doesn't lack in confidence and that is a characteristic you don't find in many freshmen.”
Perez graduated from Male Traditional High School with a GPA above 3.0 while posting back-to-back undefeated regular season records in singles during her final two prep seasons. She is also a four-time qualifier in the Kentucky High School State Tournament (doubles in her first two years and singles in her final two years). Her greatest high school athletic accomplishment happened this past season after winning the Region 6 singles title and making it to the round of 16 at the State Championships.
Perez qualified for the 2012 Southern Closed this month by advancing to the finals in the Girls 18 & Under Feed-in Consolation at the USTA Kentucky-sponsored Joe Creason Qualifier. For the past few years, she has trained at the Top Gun Tennis Academy in Louisville, and will train again this summer at her grandmother's tennis facility, Club Albartos, in Puebla, Mexico.
“When she called me and said she was coming to Chicago State, I knew I was getting a winner. Marnie comes from a tennis family so tennis is in her blood, added Barton. “Her mother is a fantastic 5.0 tennis player and her grandmother runs a tennis facility in Mexico. While she visits family, she trains in Mexico every summer since I can remember so hard work is not a stranger to her. I am expecting big things from her in the classroom and on the court. Chicago State Athletics and the University are going to enjoy having her represent the Green and White.”
Perez is the second signee for Barton this spring and will join fellow freshman Carynne Lloyd (Lansing, Mich.) on campus in August.
~CSU~
