AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head tennis coach Jaron Maestas has announced the signing of Gala Arangio, who will arrive in Ames for the spring semester and has four years to play.

“Gala is a kid that plays with a ton of passion and heart,” Maestas said. “She loves the sport of tennis and we are excited for her to bring that to Ames. I think that energy will be infectious to the team and I really look forward to this.”

Arangio ranked No. 1 in the Mexican Tennis Federation. She also had a Italian Tennis Federation ranking of 2.6.

Arangio joins the Cyclones with a strong tennis history, having ranked as high as No. 265 in the ITF Pro Singles Rankings. Her top WTA Singles Ranking was No. 1,041, while she ranked No. 1,059 in doubles.

The Buenos Aires, Argentina, native has was a semifinalist in doubles action at the W15 Monastir and reached the round of 16 at the W60+H Irapuato.

She attended Enlightium Academy High School where she is a member of the National Honor Society. Arangio is quadrilingual, speaking Spanish, English, Italian and French.