IU boasts nation’s No. 6 recruiting class for 2011 season

The IU women’s tennis team has signed five players to land the No. 6 recruiting class in 2011, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network.

The recruiting service, which ranks players on a five-star scale, lists Ariel Beckerman as a four-star prospect and the Hoosiers’ other recruits as five-star players. Carolyn Chupa, ranked No. 22 in the class, is the top prospect, and the other five-star signees — Alecia Kauss, Katie Klyczek and Shannon Murdy — are in the top 51.

“It’s very unique in that next year we’re going to have nine players on the team and five are freshmen,” IU coach Lin Loring said. “That’s very strange.”

The five newcomers, all from the United States, will replace three international seniors on a roster that currently has only one American, freshman Kayla Fujimoto.  

Loring said his squad will not be in a rebuilding mode.

“Normally if you lose three seniors who are starters, you’re going to have a rebuilding year,” Loring said. “I don’t expect us to drop off at all. We should end up with even better depth than we have this year.”

Fujimoto said she knows most of the incoming freshman from playing junior tournaments together, and she even practiced with Katie Klyczek, a Munster, Ind., native who is coming to IU as the No. 51 prospect in 2011.

“I’ve trained with her since we were probably 11 or 12 so I know her really well,” Fujimoto said. “She’s one of my really good friends.”

The team will be a lot different next year, Fujimoto said, but she said she is looking forward to playing with the incoming class.

“I’m really excited about having them here, knowing them from juniors and stuff,” Fujimoto said. “It will be a lot different dynamic because there will be a lot more Americans than international, but I think the team’s mostly pretty excited that they’re coming.”

This season’s team, meanwhile, is gearing up for its Big Ten opener at 11 a.m. Saturday at rival Purdue.

“I didn’t know anything about the Indiana-Purdue rivalry last year before I came, but now I understand it’s big,” sophomore Leslie Hureau said. “We’re ready for it, I think. We’ve been practicing well, and we just want to go out there and compete, do our best.”