The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Women’s Tennis signs standouts Ionescu, Mansfield
11.14.2025 | Women's Tennis
Elizabeth Ionescu of York, Pa., and Kate Mansfield of London, England, will join the program in January.
Austin – University of Texas Women's Tennis has signed standouts Elizabeth Ionescu and Kate Mansfield to Athletic Scholarship Agreements (ASA), head coach Howard Joffe announced Friday. Both will join the team in the spring of 2026.
"Elizabeth Ionescu is the embodiment and epitome of the term 'Blue Chip' recruit," Joffe said. "Elizabeth is a superb athlete, who is gifted with tennis skills and ability. She is also deeply resourced as a young person. She is tough, feisty, competitive, kind, humorous, smart and driven. I know our team is excited to have her starting this spring, and my intention is to work with her to actualize her goals. I'm so grateful to her parents Simona and Florin for the trust they have put in Texas and our program."
"Kate Mansfield is someone we were very fortunate to find," Joffe said. "Kate has all the resources that make people great in whatever field they choose. She is very smart, driven, tenacious and determined. She also happens to have exceptional tennis talent with a pro style game. I know that her teammates, coaches and our staff are thrilled to have her join our family soon. We can't thank her parents, Walter and Nicole, as well as her coach and close friend Alejo Mancisidor, enough for their faith in our staff and program. I intend to work diligently with Kate in the service of her goals, and I anticipate great things ahead."
A native of York, Pa., Ionescu is a blue-chip prospect who has been rated as high as No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in Pennsylvania by TennisRecruiting.net. She currently has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 948, and in doubles, has been ranked as high as No. 673 and is currently No. 882.
"I chose the University of Texas because from the moment I stepped on campus it felt like a second home," Ionescu said. The coaches, staff, team and everyone around UT truly made me feel like I could reach my full potential as a student-athlete. I can't wait to get there and get started."
In March of this year, Ionescu won her first professional title, taking the doubles crown at the W15 Trois-Rivieres with current Longhorn Christasha McNeil. She also reached the doubles semifinals of the W35 in Jackson, Miss., in April 2025, and the W75 in Evansville, Ind., in July 2024.
In singles, Ionescu has advanced to the second round of the main draw of several professional tournaments with one of the most notable being the W75 in Rome, Ga., in 2024 when she defeated current WTA No. 38 Ann Li, 6-0, 6-3, in the first round. In 2025, she qualified for the main draw of the W100 in Evansville with a win over current WTA No. 224 Wakana Sonobe. It was the second-straight year she had emerged from qualifying to reach the main draw in Evansville.
In juniors, Ionescu went to the singles semifinals of the J300 in San Diego in March 2024 before being forced to retire after just four games against Iva Jovic. She had also reached the doubles quarterfinals in that tournament. In May 2023, she advanced to both the singles and doubles finals of the J100 Quebec City.
At only age 15, Ionescu won the 18s singles title at the 2023 USTA National Indoor Championships in Indianapolis. Just a few days later in December, she reached the third round of the Orange Bowl as a wild card.
Ionescu's father, Florin, competed in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics in the steeplechase for Romania, and her mother, Simona, was a member of the Romanian national track team, competing in the 400-meter and 800-meter events.
A native of London, England, Mansfield has a career-high WTA singles ranking of No. 883 and is currently No. 897. She has a high doubles ranking of No. 1467 and is currently No. 1475.
"I chose Texas because it's the perfect place for me to keep improving as both a player and a person," Mansfield said. "From my visit, I could see that the coaches and team have such a driven and supportive environment, making it the ideal place for me to continue working toward my long-term goals. It's an honor to be a Longhorn, and I'm so excited for what's to come!"
In September, she advanced to the singles final of the W15 Ceuta in Spain. Earlier in June, she reached singles quarterfinals and doubles semifinals of the W15 Monastir in Tunisia. The year before in Monastir, Mansfield played W15s in consecutive weeks, winning five-straight singles matches out of qualifying to make the semifinals after having won four straight to go to the quarterfinals the week before. She also took five-straight singles matches out of qualifying to get to the quarterfinals the W15 Alcala de Henares in Spain in November 2024.
During her juniors career, Mansfield captured three singles titles, including two in consecutive weeks in September 2022 at J5s in Tirana, Albania, along with the J5 Liverpool in November 2021.
She also reached five doubles finals, making it in the J5s in Tirana and Liverpool in 2022, the J5 Cancun in Mexico in 2021, and the J5 and J4 in Larnaca in Cypress in 2020.
Mansfield was originally born in Denver, Colo., and moved to London at the age of 2. She began in tennis after being selected into the junior development program at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club (AELTC) on a visit to her school when she was 5 years old. She then trained on the Wimbledon grounds for 13 years.
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