SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – After wrapping up their fall season, the UC Santa Barbara Women's Tennis team has signed Isabella Wong from London, England, and Shanelle Iaconi from Perth, Western Australia.

Wong has earned an ITF Junior World Ranking high of 207 and a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) of 9.82. In 2024 she made her Junior Wimbledon debut and represented Great Britain in the U18 Summer Cup. A graduate of Highgate School, she earned Full Colours in athletics and the Bronze UKMT SMC Award in mathematics.

Recruited heavily by top programs, including Harvard, Columbia, San Diego, USC, Vanderbilt, and Illinois, Wong chose UC Santa Barbara for its "balance of academics, tennis, and student life. The team has a healthy and happy environment that gives student athletes, a great opportunity to pursue their goals after their time at UC Santa Barbara. Lastly, being surrounded and supported by people who are each individually driven is extremely motivating."

Iaconi has been ranked among the Top 10 Australian Juniors and has competed on the Australian School National Team. She earned the Shane Smedley Trophy for Elite Performance, and participated in the Australian Pizzey Cup. On multiple occasions she has also represented both Western Australia and Australia, achieved a career-high UTR of 10.02, earned the Women's State League Most Valuable Player in 2021 and 2022, and was selected for Curtin University's Elite Athlete Program.

She too considered several prestigious programs, including Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania. When asked why she chose UC Santa Barbara, she said the university has an "extremely positive reputation, great results and ethos, and a highly regarded coach."

UC Santa Barbara opens their spring season on Tuesday, Jan. 13 in Los Angeles. The Gauchos will head down the 101 to take on USC at 12 p.m.