The LMU women's tennis team recently inked Tatijana Sheikhan to a National Letter of Intent to play for the Lions this fall.

Sheikhan was born in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 16, 1997. The only daughter of Tawnya and Shawn Sheikhan, she is also the only person in her entire family to play tennis. The standout athlete, who has played tennis since the age of three, chose LMU because it has everything she was looking for - strong academics, strong athletics, and wonderful people.

Sheikhan attended Laurel Springs High School, but through the program, she was able to attend IMG Academy in Florida and travel around the world to play various tournaments. She held rankings in both junior and women's international tours, and was ranked number one in the state of Nevada for most of her junior career. She will graduate one year early while carrying a 4.0 GPA throughout her high school career. The 5'7" right-handed player who idolizes Maria Sharipova is listed as a Four-Star player according to TennisRecruiting.net.

"We are looking forward to having Tatijana on the team next year," head coach Jamie Sanchez said. "We see her as an important addition to our doubles lineup, and she will add strength to our singles play."

The Lions finished the 2015 season 5-20 overall, reaching the quarterfinals of the WCC Championship tournament.