Dec. 6, 2008

The USC women's tennis team has brought another standout player to Troy, signing Valeria Pulido-Velasco to a national letter of intent to join the Trojans in 2009, USC head coach Richard Gallien recently announced. A right-handed star out of Jojutla, Morelos in Mexico, Pulido-Velasco comes to USC with strong experience on the singles and doubles scenes.

Velasco-Pulido's career singles record is listed in the International Tennis Federation at 81-46, along with a 69-45 doubles mark She has held WTA Tour rankings as high as No. 418 in singles and No. 341 in doubles this year.

"Valeria is a great player in both singles and doubles, and she's the top junior in Mexico," Gallien said of Velasco-Pulido. "She comes from a great family - her sister played tennis at Miami-Ohio - and she has proven herself at the national and the international level."

In 2005, Velasco-Pulido had a great showing at the ITA/Morelia 2-MEX, finishing as a singles finalist and winning the tournament title in doubles. She is set to join the USC roster for next year's 2009-2010 season.

"Valeria was highly recruited by several schools in the top 10 and we are extremely fortunate and happy to have her come to USC," Gallien said. "There have been many great players from Mexico who have come to USC in the past and we are thrilled to keep that tradition going."

On the women's side, USC standouts from Mexico have included Heliane Steden and Lupita Novelo, while Rafael Osuna Jr. and Jorge Lozano have represented Mexico as Trojans on the men's side.