Fairfax, Va. – George Mason University women's tennis coach Steve Curtis has announced six new student-athletes for the Patriots' 2024-25 incoming class.
The six-person class, which comprises of three transfers and three incoming freshmen, also includes two Virginia natives.
"I am very pleased with our incoming class," said Head Coach Steve Curtis. "The three sophomore transfers, Veda, Noelle and Mary, come in with solid collegiate experience adding to their extensive junior careers. The incoming freshmen class, Maya, Paige and Shivaani, all have had great national and/or international experience. All six of these players will come in helping the depth of our lineup."
Noelle Talarek comes to George Mason from East Carolina University where she was a member of the women's tennis team. A Great Falls, Va., native and graduate of Langley High School, the three-star recruit played her freshman season for the Pirates. Talarek led the Langley team to 2022 and 2023 VHSL Class 6 State titles at the number one spot in the lineup. She will be working toward her B.S. in Nursing.
A native of India, Veda Prapurna competed for Temple University in her first year before transferring to George Mason. She was ranked in the top 10 in India and top five in her region. Prapurna will be majoring in Bioengineering
Incoming freshman Maya Bayat is a Virginia local who will be representing the Green & Gold in the fall. An Arlington native who attended Washington-Liberty High School, the four-star recruit was named top 200 national and top five in Virginia according to Tennisrecruiting.net. Bayat will be majoring in Business with a minor in Art.
Mary Young is a native of North Carolina who attended and played her freshman season at Southwestern College in Georgetown, Texas. The three-star product attended high school at Green Level in Cary, N.C., where she was ranked as high as 230 by TR.net and was a finalist for the 5A State Championship in 2021. In her freshman year at Southwestern, Young played the number one position in both singles and doubles. Young will major in Communications with a minor in Business.
Shivaani Ganesh is an incoming freshman who attended Nasr School in Telangana, India. Ganesh was ranked top 30 nationally and won gold in varsity regionals. She will be majoring in Computer Science in the fall.
Paige Massey is a native of Bellaire, Texas, and graduated from iUniversity Prep in Grapvine. Massey is listed as a three-star recruit and was ranked as high as 236 in the country and top 12 in the state of Texas, according to TR.net. She will be majoring in International Security and Law.
