TYLER, TEXAS – The UT Tyler tennis program has announced six newcomers for the 2025-2026 season including two men and four women to help continue to push the program into new heights.
Claudia Di Leonardo joins the women’s program as an incoming transfer from Southeastern Louisiana. She hails from Marseille, France. “Claudia adds strong experience coming from the D1 level,” head coach Chris Bizot said. We made a strong emphasis on adding someone with some college matches under her belt to help our young team and we are excited to have Claudia in the program.”
Hailey Zhang will come to campus as a freshman from Plano, Texas and Liberty High School. She is a three star recruit and a top 200 prospect according to tennisrecruiting.net. “We have recruited Hailey for a couple of years and cannot wait to get her to campus. She fits our program and university perfectly as she does everything at a high level.”
Next up is Maria Antonio Ortega, another strong recruit who is from Amposta, Tarragona, Spain. She was a top 120 player in Spain before coming to UT Tyler. “Maria will be great energy and strong level to our program. She will add great depth to an already strong line up and we are thrilled to have her at UT Tyler.”
Sabrina Pugh rounds out the women’s class of newcomers, another freshman, this time from Montgomery, Texas. She is a two star recruit and a top 400 player according to tennisrecruiting.net. “Sabrina is a great addition to our program. She will develop into a very good college player. She will be one to watch as her best tennis is in front her.”
On the men’s side, Manuel Lassacher comes to the Patriots as a top 15 national player in Austria, hailing from the city of Salzburg. “Manu is a great addition to our program. He has great upside and fits perfectly within our team environment.”
Samuel Antwi rounds out the men’s recruits, and he comes in as a transfer from Seward Community College. Antwi was the #2 ranked player in the junior college ranks last season and represented Ghana in the Davis Cup. “Sammie brings high level experience to our program. He has an infectious positive attitude and loves the team atmosphere. He will have a big impact on our program on and off the court.”
The cast of newcomers will join their respective programs and battle it out in the Tyler Invite on September 5 and 6 as they begin their fall slate and individual competitions before the team matches begin next spring.
