What are my chances of D1 Tennis?

[The1AndOnly]

Hi, guys. I am a 3-star freshman (class of 2020) with a big passion for tennis. I currently play 15 hours of tennis week, including private lessons, but don't do any physical conditioning (which I know is a huge mistake, but I have plans to start conditioning within the next month). My TennisRecruiting ranking has been climbing very steadily over the past few years (#380 in 2014) and I am currently ranked in the top 260 of my class. I am still 14 years old (turn 15 in June) but have stopped playing 14 and under tournaments for a while now. I live in the ******* Section and am ranked in the top 30 for Boys 14s and am also ranked in the top 70 for Boys 16s. Nationally, my USTA ranking is around 200-210 for Boys 14s. (Have not played any National 16s yet so my ranking in that department is around 700). My UTR is currently hovering around 10.2, and I would guess that I'm a high 4.5 NTRP. If all goes according to plan, by Junior year, I should become valedictorian of my school (big school; around 3000 kids, 750 per grade level), and my GPA is currently 4.5 on a 5.0 scale (will probably be around 4.75 by Junior year). Also, I am going to be playing on an extremely good high school team this spring (yes our season is during the spring), and our boys have a decent shot of winning the Illinois state championship this year, and are almost guaranteed a top 3 finish. I will be part of the state line-up, most likely playing doubles.

It's a big dream of mine to play Division 1 tennis, and it's an even bigger dream of mine to play for an Ivy League school. Do I have a shot of being recruited to play tennis for a DI or Ivy school? If I became a 4-star (I'm having currently close matches with 4-stars in my grade but not quite beating them yet) will that significantly increase my chances of being recruited? How much do colleges value UTR, USTA ranking, and TRN compared to each other? If I don't get directly recruited for D1 or Ivy tennis, will my tennis achievements have a significant impact on my entry to these schools? Are college coaches more likely to recruit players that have been improving rapidly over the years? How early do I need to start the recruiting process?

I know that this was a very long post but I am extremely dedicated to the sport and am really hoping to have my hard work pay off. I would highly appreciate it if any of you would give me your thoughts on my situation. Thank you in advance!

 

[The1AndOnly]

Oh yeah, I completely forgot; "m1dwest" is censored on here so the ******* is actually the m1dwest section.

 

[Nacho]

14? You still have a ton of tennis yet to play. Lots of variables here, and yes, you can get there. I recommend to shoot for some short term goals. Get past the ******* qualifiers. Qualify for the National Hard Court tournaments, or at least some of the others (Clay, Indoor). Get some little victories along the way in tournaments you can win. Learn how to work your way through a tournament. If you qualify for Kalamazoo when your 16/17 you will be looked at by most D-1's. I wouldn't worry about the HS team tennis that much, most D-1 coaches dismiss this. Learn to put points together and strategize, its a big difference from your age to the 16's. You are playing other kids developing right now and winning by pushing. Develop some weapons. Learn about fitness and stamina. Watch a ton of college tennis if you can, Illinois has a great program to go watch. Start researching what colleges you may want to shoot for.

You have a great goal, and a solid focus on what you want. You understand you need to work at it, your humble about your chances in this post, but its totally possible. I knew a guy growing up who was about where you were, and around age 15 he started dominating people and ended up almost winning Kalamazoo and then playing for Clemson. But he was very focused and worked hard at it.

Good luck

 

[tennisfan17]

If you're already a three star and maintain that starring by senior year I'd imagine so. I'm just going from personal experience as I have had three friends end up playing D1 here in Texas and they've all been 2 star recruits.

 

[Koby1]

Yeah based on where you are right now D1 is very very achievable. It depends on the team itself though. Playing on an Ivy league however would be a lot tougher. Most of the Ivy league players are 5 star players and blue chips or somewhere around there. You definitely have a shot for Ivy league but you'll have to really step it up and improve a lot. Especially in the physical conditioning department. Physicality is very important in the older age groups.

 

[The1AndOnly]

14? You still have a ton of tennis yet to play. Lots of variables here, and yes, you can get there. I recommend to shoot for some short term goals. Get past the ******* qualifiers. Qualify for the National Hard Court tournaments, or at least some of the others (Clay, Indoor). Get some little victories along the way in tournaments you can win. Learn how to work your way through a tournament. If you qualify for Kalamazoo when your 16/17 you will be looked at by most D-1's. I wouldn't worry about the HS team tennis that much, most D-1 coaches dismiss this. Learn to put points together and strategize, its a big difference from your age to the 16's. You are playing other kids developing right now and winning by pushing. Develop some weapons. Learn about fitness and stamina. Watch a ton of college tennis if you can, Illinois has a great program to go watch. Start researching what colleges you may want to shoot for.

You have a great goal, and a solid focus on what you want. You understand you need to work at it, your humble about your chances in this post, but its totally possible. I knew a guy growing up who was about where you were, and around age 15 he started dominating people and ended up almost winning Kalamazoo and then playing for Clemson. But he was very focused and worked hard at it.

Good luck

Yeah based on where you are right now D1 is very very achievable. It depends on the team itself though. Playing on an Ivy league however would be a lot tougher. Most of the Ivy league players are 5 star players and blue chips or somewhere around there. You definitely have a shot for Ivy league but you'll have to really step it up and improve a lot. Especially in the physical conditioning department. Physicality is very important in the older age groups.

Thank you all for your time. For reference I'd like to mention that I have been seriously aging up from the 14s to the 16s since this summer (right after my 14th birthday). I have an all-court game that translates well into doubles, which I think would also be beneficial to catch the attention of college coaches. I would have been able to play the National Winter Hard Courts both of the past 2 years for 14s, but opted not to in order to spend time with my family (I will definitely play all the national level 1s I can when my 16s ranking gets higher though).

How much do you guys think I would need to improve in order to have a high chance at these schools? Would a 4-star ranking do the job? Also, what exercises do you think are most beneficial for a tennis player to perform? (sprints, long distance, weights, core, arm, shoulder, calf, thigh, etc.)

 

[Koby1]

For a D1 school a 4 star even a 3 star ranking is more than enough. But for an Ivy league you should aim for 5 stars. Keep in mind that the amount of stars are still just a number so there is a chance of playing on a Ivy league as a 4 star but you'd have to be really good for a four star. One of my friends started at Dartmouth this year. He was at around like 270 in tennis recruiting for his class so a solid 3 star. But he told me he wasn't even close to making the team so hes been stuck in club. And there are even quite a few better players than him in club. As for the exercises I would ask your coach. I'm currently a senior in high school so like I don't have the best knowledge in exercise but I lift weights. However I do see the physicality to be a huge difference between the 16s players and the 18s players.

 

[Collegetennisrules]

Who started at Dartmouth that was a 3 star?

 

[Noveson]

Ivy league is a huge jump from just simple D1 tennis. The difference between the low guys on my team(including me) and the low guys on Ivy league teams is huge. I wouldn't have even sniffed the roster of an ivy league school. Being a 3 star with 3 years left to go you will have zero problem making a D1 team if you keep working at it.

As far as making an Ivy league team a lot of it will probably depend just on how you grow. The higher you get in tennis the more physical attributes start to matter. I'd think it's a definite possibility though just based on where you are now! Good luck!

 

[Nacho]

Thank you all for your time. For reference I'd like to mention that I have been seriously aging up from the 14s to the 16s since this summer (right after my 14th birthday). I have an all-court game that translates well into doubles, which I think would also be beneficial to catch the attention of college coaches. I would have been able to play the National Winter Hard Courts both of the past 2 years for 14s, but opted not to in order to spend time with my family (I will definitely play all the national level 1s I can when my 16s ranking gets higher though).

How much do you guys think I would need to improve in order to have a high chance at these schools? Would a 4-star ranking do the job? Also, what exercises do you think are most beneficial for a tennis player to perform? (sprints, long distance, weights, core, arm, shoulder, calf, thigh, etc.)

you can make a lot of D-1 teams as a 4 star. It just depends on what teams you want to make. The top 20 might be a reach, but anything outside of that is entirely possible. Since your goal is the Ivy's ones that you might consider are Brown, Penn, and Yale, they have or have had some 4 stars.

 

[Koby1]

Who started at Dartmouth that was a 3 star?

For privacy issues I don't really wanna give out names

 

[Collegetennisrules]

Yes a 3 star did start however, he was ranked higher than a three star in his final ranking. Also from what people said, he was a big time athlete. So let's not get carried away with thinking all three stars can play Ivy tennis. The recent recruiting classes have been almost all five stars or better for the Ivies. League is getting very good on a national level. A

 

[Koby1]

Yes a 3 star did start however, he was ranked higher than a three star in his final ranking. Also from what people said, he was a big time athlete. So let's not get carried away with thinking all three stars can play Ivy tennis. The recent recruiting classes have been almost all five stars or better for the Ivies. League is getting very good on a national level. A

Oh I didn't mean he started on the team i guess i said that wrong. He started going to darmouth this year. He's not on the team hes on club. He's like in the middle of the pack on club too

 

[The1AndOnly]

Thank you all for your feedback! I'm aiming for the Ivies predominately for the education, but also because I love their teams and would love to play on them. Yeah, I see that I really need to start beefing up my conditioning schedule to have a shot. And I'll be honest here, I'll be happy if my tennis doesn't get me on the starting line-up, but it does significantly help me get into these schools. Do you guys know if rankings like mine (assuming they didn't rise or fall very much between now and senior year) would help a lot in the admissions process? Also, do any low 4-stars get chances to play as starters? Finally, what do colleges value the most: TRN, UTR, or USTA?

(Lots of questions, I know, but you guys seem to really be willing to help so let's hear it! :3)

 

[jcgatennismom]

Thank you all for your feedback! I'm aiming for the Ivies predominately for the education, but also because I love their teams and would love to play on them. Yeah, I see that I really need to start beefing up my conditioning schedule to have a shot. And I'll be honest here, I'll be happy if my tennis doesn't get me on the starting line-up, but it does significantly help me get into these schools. Do you guys know if rankings like mine (assuming they didn't rise or fall very much between now and senior year) would help a lot in the admissions process? Also, do any low 4-stars get chances to play as starters? Finally, what do colleges value the most: TRN, UTR, or USTA?

(Lots of questions, I know, but you guys seem to really be willing to help so let's hear it! :3)

Ok, good news/bad news. Good news if you are a 10.2 UTR as a Jan freshman, it is definitely possible to reach a D1 level UTR in time for recruiting. My son was a 10.3/10.4 summer after freshman year; he has come close to a 13 as jr/sr. (UTR is cyclical for juniors -it is not a constantly positive trajectory for most. I see players get close to or over 13, drop to low 12s and cycle back up) Bad news it is very hard to get an Ivy roster spot. We knew 3 class of 2017 5 star players (3 different states) who wanted to play at Ivys-none of them got it. They were 5 stars, but not top 5 stars (under 50 TRN); two of them had UTRs over 13 or at 12.8+ during some during recruiting. I heard when their UTRs cycled down, the coaches quit texting (why cycle-30 matches=3 months for many juniors; their results turn over 3-4x a year and some play better in hot or cold or temperate weather, some on different surfaces) The Ivys want UTR 13s. The only guy from our section who was accepted at an Ivy to play tennis was a blue chip, 13+, and was for a long time ranked in the top 3 in the tough section for 18s (won or finished 2nd in sectional championships in a tough section, played Nat 1s and 2s) Basically the Ivys are seeking the same players that top 50 D1s are seeking. Since the Ivys give great need based aid and most players can get a $60k a year education for under $30k due to generous need-based aid, the smart 5 stars are going to choose Ivys over other ranked schools. Guess what most tennis players are smart-the tennis teams almost always have the highest GPAs on campus-lot of competition for those Ivy spots, and even Ivys are getting internationals now too. Americans recruited by ranked/Power D1s get a small % of athetic aid (if you are not a blue chip, probably wont get more than 20% at a ranked school-even blue chips often get <50%), so often the Ivys are better deals financially as well as the prestige.

Other bad news: most of the Ivy coaches know who they want by spring of the recruit's junior year. We know a junior girl who has already committed to an Ivy-more than 18 months before she starts school and 6 months before she will get definite acceptance by admissions though I am sure she had a positive preread. Players often wait to list their commitment on TRN until they are accepted by the Ivy admissions. We heard that the last Ivy spots at the lower Ivys were decided by this past August for 2017. The Ivy coaches are watching at the national championships at Kzoo each August. If you want to play Ivy, you should play Kzoo 16s the summer after your soph year. Most of the guys who get in Kzoo are probably TRN 125 for their class or better

Some other ideas-Dartmouth and Brown hold summer exposure camps-attend one this summer or next. Since you play HS tennis, apply to play the New Balance tournament held at Harvard each summer-selection based on UTR. A lot of New England area coaches attend-lot of academically selective D3s. Some of the Ivy coaches also attend Florida showcases in early Dec-maybe attend one Dec of your soph or jr year. The showcases cost about $400 for 2-3 days plus travel and hotel. The showcases are not a bad deal considering it often costs families $1500-$2000 to fly, rent a car, and book hotels for multiple days for the Nat 1s the coaches attend-that is for one Nat 1, not both clay and hardcourt. We would fly with son to one and drive to the other.

I would recommend you look at the top D3 schools. Last summer one Emory guy beat some GA Tech guys and had a competitive loss against Tech's top 10 1S. Univ of Chicago is also high level tennis. Look at the top 25 D3 schools to get great academics, good to excellent tennis depending on whether you are looking at top 10 or top 25, and good need-based aid at many of those. If you really want Ivys, you have to raise your game exponentially in the next 18 months to go from 260 to top 50 TRN for your class. Coaches value ITF/UTR and TRN. Coaches will tell players contact me when your UTR is over XX.X or I am looking for UTR XX.X+. If you are a US player, ITF is optional. Some US players go that route, and now USTA gives national points for some ITFs. You can play D1 tennis for a decent D1 midmajor team if you have an 11.5 UTR, maybe even with an 11. If you want a partial athletic scholarship at a mid major, aim for 11.5-12+. If you want to be recruited by a Power ranked team, 12.5 is a minimum but you really should aim for 13+. I know some sub 12s that were recruited by Power teams, but I doubt they will play. Coaches could care less about what you were in the 14s. Work on getting better. It is hard to gauge where a 14y/o will be at 17. There are former blue chip freshmen who are not even top 100 as seniors and there are guys who were barely top 200 as freshmen who go through a late growth spurt and are 5 stars as juniors/seniors.

Train hard. Play the hardest tournaments that you can get into and at least have a chance to win a match. Play sectional tournaments that earn national points. Try some Nat 3s-many were added this year. Aim to make your section's quota for Kzoo by summer 2018 which means start playing high level sectional 16s tournaments this summer. It could take a year to build the ranking you need to get in Kzoo 16s summer of 2018.

 

[Ihatetennis]

Thank you all for your feedback! I'm aiming for the Ivies predominately for the education, but also because I love their teams and would love to play on them. Yeah, I see that I really need to start beefing up my conditioning schedule to have a shot. And I'll be honest here, I'll be happy if my tennis doesn't get me on the starting line-up, but it does significantly help me get into these schools. Do you guys know if rankings like mine (assuming they didn't rise or fall very much between now and senior year) would help a lot in the admissions process? Also, do any low 4-stars get chances to play as starters? Finally, what do colleges value the most: TRN, UTR, or USTA?

(Lots of questions, I know, but you guys seem to really be willing to help so let's hear it! :3)

For Ivy, UTR 12.8 to get a chance to be on the roster, 14+ to compete

 

[jcgatennismom]

Some of the posters have said not to play HS tennis. One guy we knew who went to Harvard played HS tennis his last 2 years. In some sections, even 5 star and blue chip players play HS tennis. I think there are a good many players on Ivy and Big 10 teams that played high school tennis. In our section, a lot of players are homeschooled. Coaches will never watch a state championship, but it is a bonus if you have that team experience. You have to have the rankings and the grades first. If you read the commitment announcements even from ranked schools, you will see players who played HS tennis and were state individual champions. Coaches know that a guy who played on a HS team is probably less likely to be a diva than a homeschooled guy who never played on a team outside of Zonals. For a team, sometimes you play when you are less than a 100%; a player may know he will lose his line, but if he didnt play, others would have to move up a position, and more than one line might be lost. In high school, singles players may be asked to play dubs. Learning to put team first in high school should make it easier to accept coach decisions in college. However, you dont have to play every year. Some players only play one year HS tennis. Play as long as you get at least 30-50% competitive matches and you have time to play outside (USTA, UTR, ITF, etc) tournaments.

 

[jhick]

Local kid I know was a 3 star who played a couple of seasons at Brown. He's no longer listed on their roster for the past 2 seasons. Looks like he played sparingly in his first two seasons. I have no idea how much he received in scholarship money. Very nIce and personable kid, and smart too. He was homeschooled but played a number of years at the local public high school, which is a powerhouse program.

 

[Doubles]

Some of the posters have said not to play HS tennis. One guy we knew who went to Harvard played HS tennis his last 2 years. In some sections, even 5 star and blue chip players play HS tennis. I think there are a good many players on Ivy and Big 10 teams that played high school tennis. In our section, a lot of players are homeschooled. Coaches will never watch a state championship, but it is a bonus if you have that team experience. You have to have the rankings and the grades first. If you read the commitment announcements even from ranked schools, you will see players who played HS tennis and were state individual champions. Coaches know that a guy who played on a HS team is probably less likely to be a diva than a homeschooled guy who never played on a team outside of Zonals. For a team, sometimes you play when you are less than a 100%; a player may know he will lose his line, but if he didnt play, others would have to move up a position, and more than one line might be lost. In high school, singles players may be asked to play dubs. Learning to put team first in high school should make it easier to accept coach decisions in college. However, you dont have to play every year. Some players only play one year HS tennis. Play as long as you get at least 30-50% competitive matches and you have time to play outside (USTA, UTR, ITF, etc) tournaments.

In response to your comment that I put in bold, I don't think that's necessarily true. Certainly top powerhouse programs might not consider a state championship depending on where the recruit is from, given how weak some states are compared to others; but, in certain states, like Illinois where there is a very tough level of competition, winning a state title is certainly impressive and worth watching as most of those guys play high level D1 tennis.
I also know that Ty Tucker at OSU pays attention to the Division 1 state championship in Ohio and offers a spot on the roster (not sure if it's a scholarship position) to the winner of the state title.

 

[strike1]

Great advice from jcgatennismom as always. My son is currently playing D1 and the only thing I would add is that it was very helpful for his process to look at the UTRs of the guys who were actually getting playing time on the teams he was interested in. We found that there were often some outliers on the team ("wow look a 3 star is on the roster of this top D1 team!") but that the numbers were much more informative if we looked instead at who was actually playing for the teams. Oh, and our son did play for his high school team. I think in some ways it made his process harder (training changed during the hs season, his UTR invariably went down during the hs season because the level of his opponents went down, etc.) but he would not have traded that experience for anything.

 

[jcgatennismom]

In response to your comment that I put in bold, I don't think that's necessarily true. Certainly top powerhouse programs might not consider a state championship depending on where the recruit is from, given how weak some states are compared to others; but, in certain states, like Illinois where there is a very tough level of competition, winning a state title is certainly impressive and worth watching as most of those guys play high level D1 tennis.
I also know that Ty Tucker at OSU pays attention to the Division 1 state championship in Ohio and offers a spot on the roster (not sure if it's a scholarship position) to the winner of the state title.

That is great that some coaches do watch state champs. I just have not seen it having attended 3 state championships where several of the singles players were Kzoo players. Even though there are 6 D1 teams in the state, no college coaches were in attendance (3 within an hours drive of champ site) any of the 3 years. Some of those in state coaches did recruit top players who also played HS, but they watched them at out of state USTA tournaments. Our state has strong HS teams with many of 1S/2S singles players ranked as 4 or 5 stars-probably close to a dozen split out over the playoff teams-with 5 in the TRN top 100 last year. However, our state only has team championship and not individual-maybe coaches watch the championships in states where there are individual state champions. It does seem the ******* coaches take more of an interest in HS tennis. Do most ******* states have a high school championship tournament of all the top singles players to determine the individual champion?

 

[Nacho]

That is great that some coaches do watch state champs. I just have not seen it having attended 3 state championships where several of the singles players were Kzoo players. Even though there are 6 D1 teams in the state, no college coaches were in attendance (3 within an hours drive of champ site) any of the 3 years. Some of those in state coaches did recruit top players who also played HS, but they watched them at out of state USTA tournaments. Our state has strong HS teams with many of 1S/2S singles players ranked as 4 or 5 stars-probably close to a dozen split out over the playoff teams-with 5 in the TRN top 100 last year. However, our state only has team championship and not individual-maybe coaches watch the championships in states where there are individual state champions. It does seem the ******* coaches take more of an interest in HS tennis. Do most ******* states have a high school championship tournament of all the top singles players to determine the individual champion?

I would agree, its the anomaly not the norm for coaches to look at HS tennis. Concentrate on UTR and summer tournament success, HS tennis success helps but is not an end all be all for most coaches, especially Ivy's

 

[Doubles]

That is great that some coaches do watch state champs. I just have not seen it having attended 3 state championships where several of the singles players were Kzoo players. Even though there are 6 D1 teams in the state, no college coaches were in attendance (3 within an hours drive of champ site) any of the 3 years. Some of those in state coaches did recruit top players who also played HS, but they watched them at out of state USTA tournaments. Our state has strong HS teams with many of 1S/2S singles players ranked as 4 or 5 stars-probably close to a dozen split out over the playoff teams-with 5 in the TRN top 100 last year. However, our state only has team championship and not individual-maybe coaches watch the championships in states where there are individual state champions. It does seem the ******* coaches take more of an interest in HS tennis. Do most ******* states have a high school championship tournament of all the top singles players to determine the individual champion?

Ohio has a team championship as well as individual singles and doubles tournaments. Michigan, I believe has a tournament for each spot they play, i.e. a state tournament for first singles, second, etc.

 

[The1AndOnly]

Do most ******* states have a high school championship tournament of all the top singles players to determine the individual champion?

In Illinois, we have individual singles and doubles tournaments, and the results from these tournaments are eventually used to decide the team champions. Each school can qualify up to 2 singles players and 2 doubles players for the state tournament.

 

[Collegetennisrules]

Local kid I know was a 3 star who played a couple of seasons at Brown. He's no longer listed on their roster for the past 2 seasons. Looks like he played sparingly in his first two seasons. I have no idea how much he received in scholarship money. Very nIce and personable kid, and smart too. He was homeschooled but played a number of years at the local public high school, which is a powerhouse program.

No scholarship money at Brown. Only financial aid.

 

[Collegetennisrules]

Oh I didn't mean he started on the team i guess i said that wrong. He started going to darmouth this year. He's not on the team hes on club. He's like in the middle of the pack on club too

Big difference in varsity and club tennis. Thanks for making your post more clear.

 

[SpringWater]

The one and onli can do it.... Takes a lot of money though....

 

[MarTennis]

The skill level required for division 1 college tennis is between Futures tennis and Challenger level tennis. If you can't win 7 games at the Futures level you can't play Division 1 College tennis

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[jcgatennismom]

The skill level required for division 1 college tennis is between Futures tennis and Challenger level tennis. If you can't win 7 games at the Futures level you can't play Division 1 College tennis

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Only if you define D1 tennis as the top 20 D1 teams. I can think of line 3-6 players from top 30-75 teams who hardly play any futures and if they do, dont make it to main draw. Even many of the guys from the top teams are still starting in Future Qs unless they get a WC. There is such a range in even the 15K US Future Qs; two Grand Slam playing juniors had to play in the 1st rd of a fall future qualifying-both almost UTR 14s so one was eliminated in 1st round of Q-both are top recruits for 2018 who can probably play for the school of their choice if they dont go pro-yet one didnt get to Q 2nd round. Yet there are also guys who would would play mid level D3 who get lucky draws and win two Q rounds. There are probably very few players under UTR 13.5 that win a MD future match in the US-to win 7 they are probably UTR 14+. Until a player earns enough points to get in the MD directly, they are at the mercy of the draw-128 players in the Q and only 8 seeded so a lot of talented players who are successful in D1 tennis do not even make it into the MD of Futures. I have heard it is much easier to get ATP points overseas than in the US procircuit Futures. Guys graduated from top NCAA teams go to places like Eqypt to win their points

There are a lot of players who will have successful D1 college careers without winning a single Futures match. I define successful as making the lineup of their team and winning the majority of their matches. I can think of players who were 1st team all conference who never won Futures MD match in the US and finally won points overseas after graduation. Players can play D1 tennis (lower lineup of MM) at about 11.5, much lower that what is needed to win a Futures MD. However aspiring D1 college players should aim for UTR13+ if they want to play on a ranked team.

 

[DaGrinder]

If you want to play D1 and continue to work hard and improve focusing on your goals, there is no doubt in my mind that anybody with dedication and hard work can maintain their ranking if not improve, which is good enough for a D1 school in your case. For Ivies, I am not going to lie to you it is only going to get harder and harder. This year I know 3 5 stars who did not take the initiative when they were around 60 and were offered a spot from the "lower" ivies" and were waiting for Harvard or Princeton or Yale and ended up not getting into any. Ivy League tennis is getting harder and harder to get in through tennis. By the time you are a senior, the level of recruitment for ivies will predictably ask for higher rankings in the 40's and 50's at least. The 3 stars you see that get in got in by themselves academically with no support- they were offered a spot on the roster once they got in.

My advice would be to just PLAY PLAY PLAY PLAY. The more matches you play, the more experience you gain. Don't worry about tennis recruiting. Don't worry about college. Play as many matches as you can.

You mentioned that you were from Illinois. The level of tennis there is not as strong as it used to be, but play all the sectional/LV 3-4-5 tournaments you can and just gain experience.

 

[jcgatennismom]

I For Ivies, I am not going to lie to you it is only going to get harder and harder. This year I know 3 5 stars who did not take the initiative when they were around 60 and were offered a spot from the "lower" ivies" and were waiting for Harvard or Princeton or Yale and ended up not getting into any. Ivy League tennis is getting harder and harder to get in through tennis. By the time you are a senior, the level of recruitment for ivies will predictably ask for higher rankings in the 40's and 50's at least. .

To back up what DaGrinder says, two class of 2018 boys have already committed to Ivy schools-both are TRN top 20 blue chips. It used to be recruits waited a while to post commitment as they are not truly "in" until accepted by admissions in late fall of their senior year, but maybe the 2018 recruits are starting a new trend of earlier announcements. I doubt there will be many Ivy recruits under TRN 50 in the future.