KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's tennis team and head coach Ryan Tomlinson have announced the hiring of Alexis Casati as the new assistant coach starting in the 2017-18 season.

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"I am really excited to have Alexis join the staff," commented Tomlinson. "She will have an immediate impact on the program. She had an outstanding playing career at Illinois and will have instant credibility with the team. Her passion for the game and the desire to develop players will be huge for us."

Casati, a Deerfield, Ill. native, will join Tomlinson and a Bronco team that went 10-13 overall and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference while appearing in the MAC tournament in 2016-17.

Casati comes to Western Michigan after graduating from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism this past May. She was a member of the Fighting Illini women's tennis program for four years finishing her career with an overall record of 61-46 playing primarily as No.1 and No. 2 singles. During her senior season, she was ranked No. 122 in the nation in singles and defeated No. 40 Felicity Matlby of Texas Tech (7-5, 6-3) and No. 60 Anna Sanford of Ohio State (6-4, 6-4). Casati was named to the All-Big Ten Team her sophomore season while being honored Academic All-Big Ten her sophomore and junior seasons. Casati also is tied for the Illinois freshman record for single season wins as she went 30-10 overall in singles competition.

In high school, Casati was named First-Team Illinois All-State in 2011 and placed fifth in the State Championships. The five-star recruit was also a three-time conference champion and a two-time section champion. Casati was coached by her parents, Michelle and Stephen Casati. Both played tennis professionally while Michelle was ranked as high as No. 18 in the world.