Michigan Inks Three Players During Early Signing Period
11/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan men's tennis program announced today (Thursday, Nov. 17) that it has received National Letters of Intent from three student-athletes for the 2006-07 season: George Navas (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Preparatory School), Matt Parks (Troy, Mich./Troy HS) and Michael Sroczynski (Chatham, N.J./Laurel Springs School).
It marks the second recruiting class for Bruce Berque, who is in his second year at U-M after taking over as head coach prior to the 2004-05 season. Two of the players are considered among the top high school seniors in the nation by tennisrecruting.net, with Sroczynski listed No. 14 and Navas at No. 22.
"It's a great class," said Berque. "I have no doubt that this group, over the course of their four years, will be responsible for helping to take this program to a new level."
Navas has been ranked as high as No. 9 nationally in Boy's 18-and-under singles, and as high as No. 2 in the state of Florida. He has earned even higher marks in Boy's 18s doubles, with No. 1 rankings at both the national and state level. After earning the state singles championship during his junior season at Tampa Preparatory School, Navas reached the finals at the National Open later in the spring. The Tampa Tribune Tennis Athlete of the Year for 2005, Navas teamed with current U-M freshman Andrew Mazlin (Altamonte Springs, Fla./Lyman HS) to claim second place in doubles at the 2004 National Clay Courts.
"George is, and always has been, one of the top players in Florida, which is probably the strongest state for tennis," noted Berque. "Anytime you're one of the top few players in Florida, you're going to be one of the best nationally. George is a very talented kid, he has extremely strong doubles skills and he's also an accomplished singles player. I expect him to have an immediate impact during his freshman year in both areas."
Parks has earned all-state honors in each of his three seasons at Troy High School. He reached the state semifinals after claiming back-to-back regional championships as a freshman and sophomore. Parks earned third-place finishes at two Midwest Designated Championships (Boy's 16s and 18s), one Midwest Open Championship (Boy's 16s) and one Midwest Closed Championship (Boy's 18s). He was ranked as high as No. 1 in southeast Michigan and No. 8 in the Midwest for Boy's 16s.
"Matt is one of the top players in Michigan at this point," said Berque. "He is now starting to make big strides with his game. He's very well-coached and he's completely committed to tennis right now. I believe Matt is going to have a great impact in the lineup as well."
Sroczynski has earned career-high national rankings of No. 27 in Boy's 18s and No. 6 in Boy's 16s. He has had a wealth of experience in International Tennis Federation events, capturing the singles title at the Canadian International Championships last month after winning the doubles crown at the International Hard Court Championships in August. Sroczynski, who also reached the doubles final at the International Grass Court Championships in 2005, is the winner of 11 Eastern Sectional championships and was the National Open champion for Boy's 16s in 2003.
"Michael is a very big and strong kid with several weapons," commented Berque. "He's got a huge serve and very strong ground strokes. Michael just recently started picking it up on a international and national level. He's had a great deal of success recently on the ITF circuit, and he's someone who is completely committed to his game. We expect him to make significant contributions immediately."
With just three juniors, one sophomore and four freshmen on the 2005-06 squad, Berque looks forward to having a full roster at his disposal next season.
"Right now the focus is to have a great season this year," said Berque. "Our only drawback is that we don't have as many players on the roster as I would typically like. On the other hand, the strength of next year's incoming freshman class reinforces the fact that we made the right choice by not rushing into signing more players just so that we could have a larger team this year. It's going to be well worth the wait to have 11 guys next season who are all very talented and close. All three of the recruits have ties to players presently on the team. Next year we'll be a lot more secure knowing that we have more depth. Right now we only go eight deep and next year we'll have three more players."
The Wolverines will open 2006 by traveling to Coral Gables, Fla., to compete against Miami, Duke and Texas in an individual event on Jan. 14-16. Michigan will then return home for its dual match opener on Jan. 21, a doubleheader affair with Western Michigan (10 a.m.) and Ball State (6 p.m.) at the Varsity Tennis Center.
Contact: Marc Ressler (734) 763-4423
Players Mentioned
