ELON, N.C. - Elon University women's tennis head coach Elizabeth Anderson announced the signings of incoming freshmen Lizette Reding and Alison O'Dea on Thursday, April 16.
 
"Lizette and Ali are both very hard workers who have a lot of valuable international tennis tournament experience," Anderson explained. "They are both very driven academically and athletically and are very team-oriented. We are looking forward to working with them."
 
Reding, who joins the Phoenix from Leon, Guanajuato (Mexico), won three consecutive singles gold medals in the Junior National Olympics in Mexico. Additionally, Reding represented Mexico in the Junior International Tennis Federation (ITF) FedCup Qualifier, taking on opponents from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
 
Throughout her career, Reding was named the singles champion at the ITF J5 in Leon and also reached the semifinals of the ITF JB3 in Cancun in back-to-back years. Reding has also achieved a national ranking tennis recruiting ranking of No. 59.
 
O'Dea, who joins Elon from Dublin, Ireland, won three Irish National Junior Singles Championships and achieved a No. 1 national ranking for both U16 and U18. In her career, O'Dea has won both the U18 South Ireland Championship and the East Ireland Championship, as well as Sutton LTC Player of the Year Award.
 
At her previous school, O'Dea was named as the team captain of her minor, junior and senior teams, leading each one to a state title. She was also selected to the State Junior Team in each of her four years of eligibility, winning all four National Interprovincial Titles.  
 
Both Reding and O'Dea are set to join the Phoenix in the fall of 2020. Elon finished the 2019-20 season with a 13-4 overall record, including ending the year on a nine-match winning streak.