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Ansley Cargill of Duke Women's Tennis Turns Professional
7/15/2001 1:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
July 15, 2001
DURHAM, N.C. - Duke University rising sophomore Ansley Cargill announced on Sunday she will turn professional. Cargill will play in her first professional tournament on Sunday in the A&P United States Tennis Association (USTA) $50,000 Challenge in Mahwah, N.J.
"I am very excited about the opportunity to play on the professional tour," said Cargill. "I am at the same time sad because I had a great time this past year with my coaches and teammates at Duke. My year at Duke helped me get prepared for the challenges I will face on the tour."
Cargill, a native of Atlanta, Ga., made a huge impact in Division I women's tennis this past season as she was ranked second nationally for most of the year. She notched a 45-4 singles and 29-8 doubles record, while earning ACC Player and Rookie of the Year honors. Her 45 singles wins is the third best single season total in Duke history.
"Obviously, our team will miss Ansley next year," said Duke head coach Jamie Ashworth. "She had an outstanding freshman season at Duke and has a great career ahead of her. Ansley has the talent to be ranked in the top 50 of the world in the near future."
Other accolades Cargill garnered are Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Freshman of the Year, All-America, and was a finalist for the Honda Award as the National Player of the Year. Cargill became the third ACC and second Duke player to earn Player and Rookie of the Year honors in the same season. Former Blue Devil Karin Miller earned the same accolades in 1997 and turned professional after her freshman season.
"I look forward to being able to concentrate solely on tennis and not have to balance both athletics and academics like I did this past year," said Cargill. "I plan on coming back to Duke in the future to get my degree."
Cargill notched the singles title at the Riviera All-American and the Carolina Classic in the fall, while posting a second place finish at the Rolex Championship and advanced to the final eight of the NCAA Individual Championship in the spring.
"Her decision is a great reflection on our program and how we develop student-athletes that can go out and complete at the professional level," said Ashworth.
As a team, Duke posted a 27-2 overall and 8-0 ACC mark last season. The Blue Devils advanced to the final eight of the NCAA Championship and notched its 14th-consecutive ACC Championship.
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