April 13, 2006

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The University of Memphis women's tennis program went to Quebec to sign its first of three spring signees, inking Dara Toulch of Montreal, Quebec, to a National Letter of Intent to play her collegiate tennis in Memphis it was announced by Head Coach Charlotte Peterson, Thursday.

Toulch is currently the No. 14 ranked player in U18 in Quebec and spent this past summer representing Canada at the World Maccabiah Games in Israel. The recipient of the MVP award at the 2003 Junior Maccabiah Games, Toulch is a three-time gold medalist at the provincial tournament.

"I'm excited to have Dara not only as a tennis player, but also as a very fine young lady. I know she will contribute not only to the success of the team next year, but also to the continued success that we have experienced in the classroom. I had the opportunity to watch Dara in training in Florida over her holiday break and felt that she has the potential to develop into a very competitive player for our team."

A 4.0 student majoring in communications, Toulch will continue to study communications at Memphis, intending to pursue a career in advertising after receiving her degree. She is currently in the top three in her English class and will graduate this spring.

She is coached by Eric Giguere and Simon Larosse at Club CDL, and has played tennis since she was six years old. She has been a member of her provincial sports-study program since she was 15, and also considered Niagara and Elon for her college tennis.

"I just really liked the team and love the atmosphere of the city and school," Toulch said. "The girls were so nice and I love the coach. I also loved the urban feeling of the school."

She is the daughter of Steve and Jo-ann Toulch and has one sister, Alex. She will come to Memphis in the fall of 2006 to start her collegiate tennis career.

Toulch becomes the Lady Tigers' first signee out of Canada since Laura Hughes graduated in 2002. She will be joined by two more Lady Tiger tennis signees in the early signing period.

Memphis will lose two players to graduation following the 2005-06 season. Andrea Feichtinger and Kristin Noble will each complete their collegiate playing careers with a pair of regular season road matches against Saint Louis University and Missouri before participating in the Conference USA Championships, Apr. 20-23rd.