JACKSONVILLE – The first signee of the Michael Helms era has officially signed with Jacksonville State women's tennis. Helms announced the addition of British standout Aneka Patel, a promising prospect that will join the Gamecocks in Fall 2024, on Tuesday morning.
 
"Typically, I try to talk myself out of signing players, but not signing Aneka never crossed my mind," Helms said. "We are getting a hardworking, multi-sport student-athlete with tremendous upside. She's a good, respectful kid who's all in with becoming a Gamecock. She checks all those boxes when it comes to building a solid program."
 
Patel, a native of London, England, earned a spot in Jax State's program after a strong juniors career. In 2023, she won championships at the Radlett Open Women's Regional Tournament and the Rickmansworth U18 Regional Tournament and took gold in the U18 and women's singles division of the Buckinghamshire Junior County Championships. Other first-place finishes occurred at the 2022 Gerrard's Cross Open and the 2022 Kingsley Open.
 
The newest Gamecock is ranked top 60 in the United Kingdom among U18 competitors and is No. 2 in the Buckingham County Open Rankings. In addition, Patel's stellar juniors outings netted her a rank of 127 in the Female British National Open Rankings. She won a personal-best 18 regional matches in a row and is a member of the Buckinghamshire Junior and Senior County Teams.
 
Patel is the first member of Helms' initial recruiting at Jacksonville State. While she will join the team next Fall, the 2024 Jax State squad will open its Spring season in less than a month. The regular season is expected to begin in mid-January with action continuing until the Conference USA Tournament, which will be held Apr. 18-21 in Miami.
 
"Recruiting is the toughest aspect of our responsibilities, especially with the transfer portal," Helms said. "There are plenty of good tennis players out there to choose from. The hard part is finding the ones that are going to make their teammates better, are willing to put in the extra work, and will represent your university with the standards we expect. I found this in Aneka and that's why I am so excited about her joining our team."
 
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