Usually when a new coach arrives at a sports program, it takes a few years for him or her to build a reputation and land top recruits. That is not the case with the Cornell men’s tennis team. On Wednesday, first-year head coach Tony Bresky announced the completion of his first recruiting class in Ithaca, which features two Top-50 junior players and is ranked fourth in the nation for 2011-12. It is the first time in Cornell tennis history that an incoming class has earned a ranking from the Tennis Recruiting Network.
Kyle Berman (Armonk, N.Y.), Jason Luu (Fairfax, Va.), Quoc-Daniel Nguyen (Vienna, Va.), Danny Riggs (Pompano Beach, Fla.) and Alex Sidney (Baltimore, Md.) are the five players in the Cornell men’s tennis class of 2015. The class ranks below only those from Vanderbilt, UCLA and South Carolina.
Riggs is the highest-ranked recruit for the Red — and for the entire Ivy League — at No. 22 in the nation. He is the grandson of former world champion Bobby Riggs, and won the 2010 high school doubles championship.
“Danny comes from a tennis family and will be a great addition to the team,” Bresky said, according to cornellbigred.com. “I am expecting big things from him and I expect him to have great success here at Cornell.”
Sidney is the other Top-50 recruit, coming in as the 36th ranked player in the country. The Baltimore native entered his senior season with a 73-3 career record.
“Alex is one of the most complete players I have seen,” Bresky said. “He is a tough competitor and has the potential to play high in the line-up throughout his career. Alex will also be a great leader and role model for Cornell tennis.”
Nguyen and Luu are also ranked in the Top-100 nationally, at No. 61 and 78, respectively.
“Daniel is a feisty competitor who will really bring a lot to the team. Daniel’s work ethic and determination will be positive additions to the team,” Bresky said.
Luu is the only lefty of the five incoming players and the shortest at 5-8.
“Jason is a very talented player,” Bresky said. “[A lefty] can be very difficult for people to play against. He has lots of potential and could play a huge role in both singles and doubles next year.”
Berman, whose father played at Cornell and whose brother currently plays at Yale, is ranked No. 124 in the nation. In July 2010, he placed third at the St. Louis Junior Tennis Championship.
“Kyle is a very competitive and determined player,” Bresky said.
As the Red heads into its match at Virginia this Saturday with a record of 3-0 the focus is on the Spring of 2011, but the team now has something else to look forward to in the distant future: an unprecedented top recruiting class.
Original Author: Quintin Schwab