SPRINGFIELD –  Clara Gandara Gonzalez, Mara Presot and Brooke Smith are set to join the Missouri State tennis team for the 2018-19 season, head coach Mallory Weber announced. The three incoming freshmen will join Anna Alons, who signed her NLI in the fall, to round out the four-member class.
 
"This is a big signing class for us, having four new freshmen will certainly be an exciting challenge," Weber said. "All of their games provide so much variety to our program. I can't wait for all of them to get to campus in August and start working with them."
 
Gandara Gonzalez joins the Bears from Cordoba, Spain, where she holds a Spanish Open ranking of 112. In the past two years, she has competed in 24 Spanish tournaments, including Women's ITF tournaments in Seville and Madrid.

"Clara will bring a lot of energy and excitement to this team," Weber said. "She has a great amount of tournament experience which will prepare her well for college tennis. Tennis in Spain is highly competitive in the open tournaments and Clara has worked very hard and seen a lot of success within those tournaments."
 
Presot, a native of Paderno Dugnano, Milan, Italy, achieved a high of 2.6 in the Italian Open rankings. Each of the past three years, she has reached the club finals and played in Italian open and junior ITF tournaments.
 
"Mara has a great all court game and the athletic stature that will allow for her to transition very well into college tennis," Weber said. "She has a lot of experience playing in Italy both in open divisions and ITF junior tournaments. I'm excited to get her on campus and begin working this fall."
 
A Springfield Glendale High graduate, Smith joins the Bears' squad after three straight seasons ranking among the top-12 singles players in state competition. Graduating early after skipping her junior year, Smith captained the Falcons her senior season and earned all-conference accolades. She ranks as the No. 8 player in the state of Missouri for her year.
 
"Brooke is the definition of a student-athlete. She is finishing high school a year early due to her academic successes," Weber said. "She is an extremely hard worker and that work ethic will allow her to really see her game grow at this level. I always love being able to keep Springfield student-athletes here at MSU and Brooke is no exception to that."
 
For all of the latest information on the Missouri State women's tennis team, visit MissouriStateBears.com or follow @MSUBearsTennis on Twitter and Instagram.