July 23, 2008
San Antonio – St. Mary’s University men’s and women’s tennis coach Ian Ward announced on Wednesday the signing of Kelly Cooper to a national letter of intent to join the Rattlers, starting with the 2008-09 season.
Cooper, a 5’6″ native of San Antonio, comes to St. Mary’s after a strong career at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School. Playing for coach Melinda Gonzales, Cooper earned All-District 28-5A honors three times and was a 2007-08 San Antonio Express-News All-Area honoree. She was regional tournament qualifier each of her last two years and was named District 28-5A MVP as a senior last season.
Off the court she was a member of the National Honor Society, the Spanish Honor Society, and the English Honor Society and ranked fourth in her graduating class.
Cooper is the second signee for the Rattlers for 2008-09. St. Mary’s advanced to the semifinals of the Heartland Conference Tennis Championships and had a 6-15 overall record last season. Hayley Harris (Sr., El Campo) earned All-Heartland Conference honors. St. Mary’s returns seven of eight players from the 2007-08 season.