Georgia Southern head women's tennis coach Sean McCaffrey has announced the signing of five student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Eagles in the Fall of 2024.
The new signees are: Hannah Eifert (Schermbeck, Germany); Franzi Heinemann (Bad Driburg, Germany); Lisen Rinman (Stockholm. Sweden); Amelie Rosadoro (Alicante, Spain) and Evelyn Warkentin (Aschendorf, Germany).
"I am extremely excited about welcoming this particular signing class to campus this upcoming August," Coach McCaffrey said. "I believe the five women joining the program will add a great deal of athleticism, talent, and heart to a program that is constantly improving each year. There is no doubt that as we watch five current Eagles finish up their careers in Pauli, Soph, Sonja, Lindsay and Silvi, many will ask whether or not our newcomers will be able to fill the shoes and roles of our soon to be graduates...although it may be impossible to replicate the work these five women have dedicated to this program over the years, I still believe our best days are ahead of us. This signing class represents a great deal of time, effort, and excitement all culminating in what should be one of the top all freshman signing classes in the nation."
Read about all five signees below!
Hannah Eifert
Schermbeck, Germany
In Germany: Two-time U18 regional champion (2019, 2020) for her club, Tc Deuten 1980 e.V. ... Helped her club earn a promotion in 2023 into the Germany 4th league ... Finished third at the U12 German Championships as a youth.
Hannah: "I chose Georgia Southern because of how welcomed I felt since the beginning of the recruiting process. Everyone has been incredibly kind and helpful. I believe it will be a great experience to play for the Eagles!"
Coach McCaffrey: "Hannah is young lady that we had the chance to spend a good amount of time with last summer. She brings a strong game and a high level of dedication in knowing college tennis is a team game. With her wealth of experience competing for her club teams in Germany, along with her humble and caring demeanor, I believe Hannah will be a great fit for the program."
Franzi Heinemann
Bad Driburg, Germany
In Germany: Captured the North Rhine-Westphalia singles title in 2021 ... Advanced to the Germany national championships in 2022 ... Finalist at Herford in 2023 ... Played club for TC Grün Weiß Paderborn and TC Herford ... Also plays volleyball.
Franzi: "The decision to commit to Georgia Southern was rather difficult, but in the end I am happy to become an Eagle next year! Georgia Southern is special because of the people, the fantastic academic opportunities and of course the great team with Coach McCaffrey. Since the beginning, I felt very comfortable and familiar with the program. Their team spirit and personalities are fantastic, along with their motivated and ambitious championship mindset. I can't wait to start!"
Coach McCaffrey: "I could tell Franzi would be right for us from the very beginning. She constructs her points at a level that most coaches would be happy their players would learn by the time they are sophomores or juniors. She is doing that now. And what I am most excited about with Franzi is her on court attitude. She is fearless and relentless. She also displays a level of passion for competition and playing well and winning that has all of us very excited about. She also is quite organized, pragmatic, independent, and task orientated. I love that about her as it shows that she will be someone who is very self motivated and won't shy away from finding ways to develop her game, or herself as a woman."
Lisen Rinman
Stockholm, Sweden
In Sweden: Plays club for KLTK, the Royal Tennis Club of Stockholm ... Recipient of the Stefan Edberg scholarship ... Member of the U14 and U16 national teams in Sweden.
Lisen: "I'm very excited to join the Georgia Southern women's tennis team and become a member of the Georgia Southern University community. The University seems fantastic and I look forward to contributing to the team's future success. I chose Georgia Southern because I got a very strong connection with the coaches and my future Eagle teammates. I am beyond excited for this next phase of my life, and of my tennis development, and feel Georgia Southern will challenge me to be the best version of myself that I can be. Go Eagles!"
Coach McCaffrey: "Lisen started out flying a bit under the radar during the early part of her recruiting. Once folks started seeing the level of talent and work ethic she would bring to the table a number of strong programs, power fives, along with the best mid majors, hopped on board. I felt an immediate connection with Lisen and I can tell she will not only be a fantastic college tennis player, but one of those special players that many other coaches will have wished they had identified, yet let get away. Lisen is very motivated and ambitious and will be a ton of fun watching improve during her college career.``
Amelie Rosadoro
Alicante, Spain
In Spain: Doubles champion in 2020 and finished second in the BBVA final in Valencia in 2022 ... Plays club for 40(15 Club Deportivo in Spain ... Also named best athlete at Saint Joseph's High School.
Amelie: "When I first spoke with Coach McCaffrey, I loved the vibes he demonstrated towards Georgia Southern University as a whole and with me personally. I'm so inspired by the ambition the team all has towards progress, development and to work hard every day. It's truly motivating. A little progress each day adds up to big results, and I believe that becoming an Eagle is definitely the right choice for me to earn those results as a team and also as a person."
Coach McCaffrey: "Amelie has been playing at high level events for quite some time and that will prove to be extremely important as she transitions to college tennis. Amelie will bring a wonderful personality and high level of genuine care to the Eagle tennis program in August. On the court she will be relentless and will play with that type of "never give up attitude" title GS Tennis has come to earn over the years. Amelie is also very ambitious and is looking to push herself to grow that 1% each day, which fits our program perfectly."
Evelyn Warkentin
Aschendorf, Germany
In Germany: Finished second in Doubles W14 at the German Championships ... Plays club for TV Sparta 87 Nordhorn, which plays in the Regionalliga in Germany ... Youth champion in several tournaments and also placed first while representing KGS Hemmingen at the German National Championships.
Evelyn: "What inspired me is the attitude of Georgia Southern University's team to get 1% better each day. The whole team has the ambition to improve every day and I feel that this is the right place for me to become stronger and better as a player and as an adult. I want to give my best for the Eagles and to work towards achieving all of our team, as well as my personal goals."
Coach McCaffrey: "We had the chance to meet and watch Evelyn while recruiting in Germany this past July. Evy will bring a great deal of raw tennis talent, a very high tennis IQ, and a great deal of passion to the court. Her level of motivation to become an even more solid player can be noticed in just about everything she does. She is a high character individual whom I believe will be a fantastic addition and a phenomenal teammate."
"All of these women are exceptional in the classroom as well," Coach McCaffrey said. "Our program has placed a premium on not only striving towards being champions on the court, but in the classroom and serving those in the community. I am confident that these five women will pick up where our five current upperclasswomen will leave off. As much as I am growing a bit out of sorts in knowing we will say goodbye to our "older" Eagles this May, I am consoled in, and incredibly optimistic in the fact we will have five especially strong ladies arrive here in Statesboro in fall of 24."