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Rebekkah Gaines took the initiative and reached out to Florida A&M University head coach Rochelle Goldthreate.

The four-star senior from Kernersville, North Carolina heard good things about the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) program and wanted to find out more.

Four-Star Senior Rebekkah Gaines Signed With FAMU
© Contributed Photo

“She was surprised I was interested since I am a little bit of a high four-star. She thought I would probably be interested in a bigger tennis program,” Gaines said. “But we just hit it off and I really want to try to help turn the program around.”

Gaines got a tour of the campus and recently signed with FAMU. She will join her older sister as an HBCU product. Hannah Gaines is a senior at Central University.

“I just felt like FAMU was a good fit academically, socially and athletically,” Gaines said. “It just kind of marked most of my boxes, and the fact that it is the No. 1 public HBCU was really big for me. The coach is an African-American woman, which you don’t see very often. That was a big deal too.”