WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women's tennis head coach Raquel Atawo announced the transfer of Kayal Gownder.
Gownder, a 5'3" product out of Cypress, Texas, is the second Boilermaker to be signed by Atawo since she took the reins last month. She joins Purdue after a four-year stint at Texas A&M, slated to attend graduate school in West Lafayette.
KAYAL GOWNDER
5-3 | Cypress, Texas | Texas A&M
- SEC Spring Academic Honor Roll (2022, ’23, ’24, ‘25)
CAREER: Posted a career singles mark of 16-9 and a doubles tally of 10-7... graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering in May 2025.
2024-25 (SENIOR): Did not see action in her senior season.
2023-24 (JUNIOR): Concluded the year with eight wins across singles and doubles… she secured a 5-1 singles record and ended the year on a three-match win streak… in doubles, she added a trio of wins with three different partners with a final record of 3-3.
2022-23 (SOPHOMORE): Completed her second season in Aggieland with a singles record of 5-3, including a dual match win over Prairie View A&M's Ruju Chauhan... boasted a 3-1 record in doubles matches across two partners (Elise Robbins and Daria Smetannikov), also claiming a doubles triumph over Prairie View with partner Elise Robbins.
2021-22 (FRESHMAN): Finished her first season 6-5 in overall singles matches with a 2-1 dual match singles record... was victorious in her first career dual match singles event against Yukina Abe of McNeese, booking a dominant 6-0, 6-1 win... improved to 2-0 following a 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Prairie View’s Claudia Andrea Islas Medina... amassed a 4-3 doubles record, winning alongside two different partners.
PERSONAL: Kayal Gownder was born in Austin, Texas in the fall of 2002, and is the eldest daughter of Mohan and Lekha Gownder... has one younger sister, Sankavi… attended Cy-Fair High School in Cypress, Texas… was rated as a three-star prospect by the Tennis Recruiting Network and ranked as a top-20 player in the state of Texas… earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Texas A&M in May 2025.