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Cecil to Pursue Professional Career
8/27/2009 5:00:00 PM | Women's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C.-Mallory Cecil, the 2009 NCAA Individual Singles Champion, has announced that she will forgo her final three seasons at Duke to pursue a career on the professional women's tennis circuit. Cecil will make her debut in the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., next week.
"It was a really tough decision," Cecil said. "There were so many things drawing me back to Duke, but at the same time I feel like it's my time. The [age] frame for women's tennis is so young so I thought this is my opportunity to pursue my career. I had a great semester at Duke, a great team and so many great memories. It was a really tough decision, but I am excited to start this new journey."
Recently earning a wild card from the U.S. Tennis Association to play in the U.S. Open, Cecil will take on Italy's Tathiana Garbin. The 32-year-old native of Mestre, Italy currently is ranked 52nd in the world and climbed to as high as No. 22 during her career. Garbin is 163-191 for her career with one career singles title.
After taking home the NCAA Individual Singles crown, Cecil has posted a successful summer. She won back-to-back USTA Pro Circuit $10,000 titles in June, and last month she reached the quarterfinals of a $50,000 event in Grapevine, Texas.
Ceil had a stellar rookie season with the Blue Devils as she was voted the ITA Player of the Year after becoming the 14th women's tennis player in NCAA history and first in ACC history to win both a team national title and individual crown in the same season.
A native of Spartanburg, S.C., Cecil closed out her first collegiate season ranked No. 1 with a 32-4 record. Her 32 victories mark the 46th time in program history a Blue Devil has eclipsed the 30-wins mark and are tied for 32nd all-time. Playing No. 1 all season for Duke, she helped guide the Blue Devils to the team championship and a 29-3 record on the season, the second most wins in team history.
She was named a Honda Award Finalist and selected as the ACC Rookie of the Year and ITA Southeast Region Rookie of the Year. She also earned a wild card exemption to play in the Family Circle Cup earlier in the year, taking on the No. 41 Virginie Razzano of France.
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