HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Coker College head men’s and women’s tennis coach Tim Pleasant is pleased to announce the signing of Kayla Meermans to a National Letter of Intent to play tennis for the Coker women in 2011-12.

The Pelion, S.C. native comes to Coker after an all-star career at Pelion High School. The six-time letter winner was the Panthers top individual tennis player receiving All-Region and All-Area honors. She was a South Carolina High School State Finals Individual qualifier for the past three years and was named to the North/South Tennis Team in 2011 with an 18-2 singles record.

A success both on and off the court, Meermans received the National Scholar-Athlete Award from the United States Army in recognition for academic and athletic excellence.

“We are very excited to have Kayla joining the Cobras,” said Pleasant. “She will help strengthen our doubles play with her height, strong serve and ground strokes; while also providing some added depth to our line-up.  I feel she has great potential for becoming a top player in Conference Carolinas.”

The Cobra women finished the 2011 season with a record of 10-10 overall and 5-4 in conference play. They placed fifth in the Conference Carolinas standings and rising senior Alyssa Blanchard was named the Conference Carolinas Women’s Tennis Player of the Year, a first by any Coker women’s tennis player in school history. With the addition of Meermans the future looks very bright for the Cobra women.