Aug. 26, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Five talented newcomers will join the Texas A&M men's tennis team for the upcoming 2009-10 season as announced by head coach Steve Denton on Wednesday.
Just a couple of months removed from a memorable NCAA Sweet 16 run, the additions will provide the Aggies with one of their deepest rosters under the direction of Denton and assistant coach Jack Seider from TCU, sophomore transfer John Lewis from the University of Alabama and freshman Beau Blackshear.
"We have made a lot of progress each year in recruiting and competing at the highest level," Denton said. "We believe this will be our best team in our four years in Aggieland. We have a lot of depth with guys who can play both singles and doubles. We are really excited about this particular group. This is what Coach McKinley and I envisioned when we first stepped foot on campus - to assemble a team with a chance to play for it all."
Dadamo, a 6-foot-1 lefthander out of Tampa, Fla., is one of three Floridians on this year's roster along with two-time junior All-American Wil Spencer (Ponce de Leon, Fla.). He was rated the No. 4 overall prospect in the class of 2007 by the Tennis Recruiting Network and was ranked No. 108 in singles and No. 22 in doubles in the preseason ITA rankings release last fall. Dadamo compiled a 33-15 dual match record playing primarily at No. 4 singles for the Gators as a sophomore. He was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Feb. 12, 2008. Dadamo is coming off a strong summer of play on the USTA Futures Pro Circuit with singles victories over former Texas A&M All-American Conor Pollock and Baylor's top returning player Jordan Rux.
"Jeff is a very talented lefty with a big serve and a big forehand," Denton said. "He played two years at Florida and had some great results there. Jeff is a very good doubles player and was one of the top juniors in the country. With those kind of credentials, he will help out our team tremendously. He will be a great addition to our singles and doubles lineup and the sky's the limit for him."
Bautista, a 5-foot-11 righthander out of McAllen, Texas, was ranked as high as No. 2 in the Lone Star State. He was rated the No. 25 overall prospect in the class of 2008 by the Tennis Recruiting Network and chose Texas A&M over Boston University, Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and Texas. Bautista, who focused on more international play during his juniors career, was ranked as high as No. 318 in the world in the ITF rankings. He won two ITF Tournaments in Barbados and Monterrey, Mexico.
"Alberto is an incoming freshman who is a real fighter," Denton said. "He is a very good match player, has a really good forehand and is very athletic. He had a very solid junior career. We believe he is going to be a player, similar to Colin Hoover, who came in and made a big impact right away for us. Alberto has a really strong work ethic and a lot of passion for the game."
Seider, a six-foot righthander out of Austin, Texas, is a junior transfer from TCU. He was rated the No. 55 overall prospect in the class of 2007 by the Tennis Recruiting Network while attending Lighthouse Christian Academy. Last year, Seider played primarily at No. 6 singles and No. 3 doubles for the Horned Frogs. He had a successful juniors career which included doubles titles at the College Station Super Champ, ITA Summer College Tennis Circuit in Abilene, Texas, and an ITF Tournament in San Antonio, Texas. Seider was ranked as high as No. 4 nationally in junior doubles.
"Coach McKinley coached Jack in juniors at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in New Braunfels," Denton said. "He was also a member of my Junior Davis Cup Team. Jack was a top five junior in the state of Texas and is a really outstanding doubles player. His playing experience at TCU over the last two years will give us added depth."
Lewis, a 6-foot-2 lefthander out of Birmingham, Ala., is a sophomore transfer from Alabama. He was rated the No. 33 overall prospect in the class of 2008 by the Tennis Recruiting Network and was ranked as high as No. 23 nationally in USTA 18's. Last season, Lewis compiled an 8-2 record in fall tournament play and was ranked No. 106 in singles in the preseason ITA rankings. He also captured the singles title at the USTA National Tennis Center Men's Tennis Invitational in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. During his juniors career, he finished as the No. 1 player in his age group for three consecutive years from 2005-07 and was a two-time USTA Sportsmanship Award recipient. His father, Walter Lewis, was the last starting quarterback for the Crimson Tide under legendary football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant, who also coached at Texas A&M from 1954-57.
"John is a top 30 American tennis player from the South," Denton said. "He is another lefty with a really good serve and forehand. John is a very talented player who is going to really help us out a lot this season. We are extremely excited to have him in Aggieland."
Blackshear, a 6-foot-3 righthander out of Brentwood, Tenn., was a top junior player in the USTA Southern Section while attending Brentwood High School. He trained during his junior and senior years at the Steve Smith Tennis Academy in Tampa, Fla. Blackshear competed in the USTA 16's and also ran cross country. He is a second generation Aggie as his father, Murray Blackshear, played for A&M in the 80's. He looks to major in business.
"Beau is a tall, athletic player with a big serve," Denton said. "He was a top junior in the South and we are looking forward to him contributing to the success of our team."
Dadamo, Bautista, Seider, Lewis and Blackshear join 10 returners to the squad which includes Krajicek, Spencer, senior Marcus Lunt (San Antonio, Texas), junior Patrick Dean (Dallas, Texas), junior Calon Alpar (Austin, Texas), sophomore Colin Hoover (Victoria, Texas), sophomore Alexis Klegou (Dunkerque, France) and sophomore Austin Klores (Franklin, Texas).
"We have good players all throughout the lineup, which you need, in order to be successful at the level we are trying to aspire to," Denton said. "We have that potential now and have addressed some of the holes we had in the past, especially in doubles, where we lost one of the best doubles players in the country in Conor Pollock. We are really looking forward to the upcoming season."
2009-10 TEXAS A&M MEN'S TENNIS NEWCOMERS
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Alberto Bautista Freshman 5-11 145 McAllen, Texas (MorningStar Academy) |
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Beau Blackshear Freshman 6-3 175 Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood HS) |
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Jeff Dadamo Junior 6-1 160 Tampa, Fla. (University of Nebraska Online/Florida) |
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John Lewis Sophomore 6-2 190 Birmingham, Ala. (American Heritage Christian Academy/Alabama) |
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Jack Seider Junior 6-0 160 Austin, Texas (Lighthouse Christian Academy/TCU) |