Commitment Announcement
Maia Magill Stays In-State at UCLA
by Rhiannon Potkey, 23 September 2013
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Maia Magill began thinking UCLA wasn't interested in recruiting her.
Magill had sent several emails to the coaching staff throughout the year, but never received anything in return.
The Studio City native figured her college tennis experience would have to take place much farther away from home.
But last April, UCLA head coach Stella Sampras Webster had a chance to watch Magill play doubles at The Ojai.
Within a few days, Magill began the recruiting process and verbally committed to the Bruins on Aug. 31.
"It's always been my dream school," Magill said. "Living in Los Angeles, it is home to me. But probably the biggest reason is because UCLA is a top team, and playing professionally is a goal of mine in the future. I feel like I can do that with the help I will get at UCLA."
Before UCLA's offer, Magill was considering Virginia, Georgia Tech and Texas Tech.
But UCLA's athletic success, academic prestige and proximity made Magill's choice easy.
She lives only 11 miles from UCLA's campus, which translates to an hour driving on the clogged L.A. freeways.
"That is the only sacrifice of living in the coolest city in the world," Magill said. "It's not a big deal to me though. I actually kind of like traffic when I'm on my way home from the LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) because I know I am here."
The 5-foot-11 Magill started playing tennis at age 8 when she attended a summer sports camp at a high school near her house.
"I was really happy that I could hit the back fence on the fly because I thought that meant that I was really good," she said. "I hit the ball harder than anyone else, so I got really excited and went home and told my mom and she put me in a tennis camp."
Magill eventually learned to keep the ball within the white lines, yet has retained her powerful strokes.
