Bulldogs Bring In FSU Transfer Di Genova
June 13, 2024 | Women's Tennis
STARKVILLE – Chris Hooshyar took to the transfer portal to snag the third member of his initial signing class at Mississippi State.
Chiara Di Genova joins the Bulldogs following her freshman season at Florida State and arrives in August with one of the most impressive résumés of any recruit in recent memory.
"Chiara is coming in with one of the highest WTA rankings in program history at No. 722 in singles and is someone that we knew we had to get once we saw that she had entered the transfer portal," said assistant coach Noah Tippen. "We had already built a very strong relationship with her in her initial recruiting process, and I think she is coming in now with an even better understanding of what we're looking to build here."
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Di Genova saw action in four singles matches during her freshman year with the Seminoles as well as three doubles outings. She made her collegiate debut in the Weinman Foundation Invitational in Honolulu, Hawaii in January and defeated Hawaii's Hannah Galindo 6-2, 6-1 in singles and topped Isabella Pampulov and Joelle Lanz of the Rainbows 6-1 in doubles with partner Cade Cricchio.
Di Genova also prevailed in her only dual match action, downing Susan Salinas of Florida A&M 6-0, 6-2 back in March.
Prior to college, the now 20-year old advanced to the quarterfinals of the ITF W15 in Lima, Peru and in Mar del Plata, Argentina. Last week, she reached the second round of the main draw at the ITF W15 in Maringa, Brazil.
Di Genova has a career-best UTR score of 10.07. She has a career-high ITF singles ranking of 235 and was ranked as highly as 159th in juniors after claiming the J5 ITF championship in Peru.
Di Genova joins fellow signees Gianna Oboniye and Carolina Troiano in the Bulldogs' fold this fall.
"She is another player who we feel is going to be able to use everything that Chris has put in place here to keep developing and will be able to have even more success on the WTA Tour after her time in Starkville. I know that Chiara is a great fit here at State and fans will love watching her play because of her athleticism, movement and they'll love the way that she competes."
For more information on the Bulldog women's tennis program, visit HailState.com or search for "HailStateWT" on X, Instagram and Facebook.