New Jersey’s top high school girls tennis player is headed to college.
Montclair Kimberley senior Aria Nina Abalos announced her commitment to Notre Dame on Friday morning.
The Bloomfield native captured her third-straight NJSIAA state singles tournament title this past weekend, becoming just the fourth girl in Garden State history to win three or more championships.
Abalos, who holds a 10.05 UTR, is rated as a Blue Chip 5-star recruit, per the Tennis Recruiting Network.
She is also ranked No. 2 overall in the New Jersey Class of 2026, No. 5 in the Mid-Atlantic and No. 20 nationally.
Abalos finished her senior season with a 21-0 record (or 21-1 including the forfeit in the Prep B first singles final). This brings her career record to 91-2 (or 91-3 including the forfeit).
Her only other losses came at the tail end of her freshman year.
Abalos also helped Montclair Kimberley win three-straight Prep B Tournament team titles and the Essex County Tournament championship in 2022.
Abalos was supposed to play in the first singles final at the Prep B Tournament on Wednesday, but a scheduling conflict forced her to miss the match. A person close to the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity, told NJ.com that Abalos had a recruiting meeting with Notre Dame at the time.
That is when the star player pledged to the Fighting Irish. Abalos can officially sign to Notre Dame beginning on Nov. 12.
Notre Dame went 21-6 in 2024-25 and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
“I am so honored to announce my verbal commitment to play D1 tennis for the University of Notre Dame!,” Abalos posted on her Instagram account. “Thank you to all those who supported me throughout this entire journey: God, my family, my Garden State Tennis and MKA community, and my friends!”
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