There’s one word that sticks out when looking at Florida’s roster: freshman.
More notable than the class, however, is the name next to it: Ingrid Neel.
The Rochester, Minnesota, native is the newest member of the Florida women’s tennis team after enrolling at the University of Florida yesterday and joining the team immediately.
Neel signed a National Letter of Intent in November of 2015 and continued to compete in both junior and professional competitions before coming to Gainesville.
Although Neel is the only underclassmen on the team, she doesn't lack experience.
Neel was listed as the No. 1 recruit in 2016 by tennisrecruiting.net. She also held that ranking in 2014 and 2015.
In June, Neel won a $10,000 singles title in an ITF Pro Circuit match and went on to win a total of five doubles titles in 2016.
She also participated in the 2015 US Open with doubles partner Alicia Black, advancing to the round of 32.
Neel begins her collegiate career for the Gators today at the Freeman Memorial Tournament in Las Vegas.
She will join junior Anna Danilina in their doubles debut against national championship runner-up Katarina Adamovic and Viktoriya Lushkova of Oklahoma State at 1 p.m.
Neel will also face off against Adamovic in singles action later in the day.
Contact Spencer Thompson at sthompson@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @spencemthompson.
Ingrid Neel
