Alabama Men’s Tennis Inks Four During Early Signing Period
11/15/2016 3:54:00 PM | Men's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama men's tennis head coach George Husack announced the additions of Edson Ortiz and Zhe Zhou for the 2017 spring season and Sam Fischer and Grant Stuckey for the 2017 fall season on Tuesday.
"We are very excited to welcome these four outstanding young men to our tennis program," said Husack. "They all bring tremendous character and work ethic as well as the ability to lead by example. They are passionate about their tennis and fully committed to helping push Alabama to be a conference and national power."
Ortiz, who hails from Chihuahua, Mexico, will begin classes at the Capstone starting in January 2017. The gifted signee won three ITF singles titles at the Panama Bowl, Copa Sultana and Monterey San Augustin, and he was also a finialist at the XXV Copa Merengue and the Jamaica Junior International. Ortiz claimed five ITF doubles championships at the Jalisco Junior Cup, Cop Sultana, XXV Copa Merengue, Jamaica Junior International and the Monterey San Augustin. He currently trains at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Naples, Fla., and he chose Alabama over Miami, Mississippi State and East Tennessee State.
"Edson is a bull – strong, athletic and a relentless competitor," said Husack. "He stops at nothing and provides fire and electricity on the court. Edson is going to be a fun guy to watch as a coach, teammate and fan."
Zhou, an incoming freshman from Tianjin, China, is the Tide's second signee who will begin classes at Alabama in January 2017. He was ranked No. 1 and No. 4 in China Boys 16s and 18s, respectively. Zhou was named the singles tournament champion in Indore, India, and he made an appearance in the finals at Causeway Bay and Weihai. The talented incoming freshman claimed four doubles championships at Shanghai, Dalian, Beijing and Chuncheon City, and he was a doubles finalist at Shenzhen and Jiangmen. He represented China in the Junior Davis Cup, advancing to the finals, which were held in Barcelona, Spain. Zhou trained at the Southern California Tennis Academy in Long Beach, Cali. He chose Alabama over USC, Pepperdine, Iowa, Texas Tech and Loyola Marymount.
"Zhe has worked very hard on and off the court to put himself in a position to play tennis at a higher level," said Husack. "He's your consummate professional, always focused on the little details that are going to help him improve as a player, student and person."
Fischer, a native of Brentwood, Tenn., will arrive at Alabama in August of 2017. He was ranked as high as No. 62 in the USTA Boys 18s national singles rankings according to tennisrecruiting.net. Last year, Fischer was named the Tennessee Individual State Champion at Brentwood High School. He is a two-time USTA Qualifier Champion in both singles and doubles, and he was named the Tennessee USTA Player of the Year in 2015. Fischer is an eight-time representative of Team Tennessee at the Junior Southern Cup, and was named the 2015 WILLCO Award Winner for the best tennis student-athlete. He chose Alabama over Tennessee, Nebraska and Auburn.
"Sam is one of the most determined individuals I have ever met," said Husack. "He has been, and will continue to be committed to being an outstanding student-athlete. I'm really excited for Sam's future in our program and know that he will help lead Alabama to new heights."
Stuckey, who resides in Charlotte, N.C., was ranked as high as No. 33 and No. 81 in the Boys 16s and 18s national singles rankings, respectively, according to tennisrecruiting.net. He was ranked as the top player in the Boys 14s and 16s in North Carolina, and he was No. 2 in the Boys 18s. Stuckey was awarded the Sportsmanship Trophy for all age groups at the North Carolina State Qualifier in Boys 16s, where he finished runner-up. He chose to play tennis at Alabama over North Carolina State, Furman and Davidson.
"Grant is a competitor," said Husack. "He's played an incredible amount of matches both regionally and nationally that has shaped his game throughout his tennis career. His development will continue at Alabama, and his potential is limitless. I look forward to seeing the growth he experiences as it will have a significant impact to those around him."
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