Women's tennis adds international signees from Argentina, England

By TTU Sports Press

July 15, 2003

International players from Argentina and England are Tennessee Tech University tennis coach Al Campos' first two additions to the women's tennis roster for the 2003-2004 season.

Melisa Cansado, the Most Valuable Player and regional champion in both singles and doubles play while at Lewis and Clark Community College the past two seasons, hails from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Margot Carter, who has captured national and regional titles in several age categories during her young career and is currently the top-ranked under-18 player in Hampshire County, comes to Tech from Winchester in the United Kingdom.

"Melisa is a very talented player with international experience as well as American college experience," said Campos. "Margot has been an outstanding player throughout her career and knows how to win matches. Both of these young ladies are strong in every phase, and they can each have an immediate impact on our team."

The daughter of Jorge and Cristina Cansado of Buenos Aires, Melisa Cansado plans to study international business. She has two seasons of eligibility with the Golden Eaglettes.

The 5-foot-5 junior participated in softball, volleyball and cross country during her high school career, in addition to excelling on the tennis courts. She ranked first in her region in 1999, and was second in both 1996 and 1998.

Also a success in the classroom, Cansado was named to the President's List all four semesters while at Lewis and Clark CC, located in Godfrey, Illinois.

On the tennis court, she played No. 1 in both singles and doubles for two years, and earned MVP honors each season. As a freshman, she placed first in doubles and second in singles at the regionals. She posted an 18-3 record in singles and was 17-4 in doubles matches for a 35-7 combined record. Last season, she went 20-0 in singles and 18-2 in doubles, winning the individual regional title in both events.

She was named as a "Player to Watch" by the International Tennis Association (ITA).

Margot Carter is the daughter of Anthony and Catherine Carter, and plans to study environmental biology. She will enroll as a freshman with four years to play.

Also 5-foot-5, Carter was the top player for coach Julian Godfrey at St. Swinthuns School. She led the team to the Hampshire County championships, winning the individual singles and doubles crowns. She has won numerous singles and doubles titles in U-14, U-16 and U-18 competition around the country, and was selected to represent two different Club Teams at the British National Club League competition.

The pair will join a Tech women's team that went undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference regular season play and earned the No. 1 seed in the league tournament before falling in the championship match. The team loses two players but returns two juniors and two sophomores in 2003-2004.