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Men?s Tennis Signs Four in Class of 2019
11/13/2014 11:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
DURHAM, N.C. – Duke men's tennis head coach Ramsey Smith announced Thursday the signing of four of the nation's best recruits in a loaded class of 2019. Adrian Chamdani, Catalin Mateas, Vincent Lin and Ryan Dickerson will enroll at Duke in August of 2015 and join the Blue Devils for the 2015-16 season.
“I am thrilled to welcome Adrian, Catalin, Vincent and Ryan to the Duke tennis family,” Smith said. “This is one of those special recruiting classes that will be the foundation of the program's future. I credit assistant coach Jonathan Stokke for his integral role in bringing this class together. These four players embody everything that we look for in a Duke student-athlete.”
Chamdani, of the Tompkins Tennis Academy and Bellarmine College Prep, is a Santa Clara, Calif., product. He is the first of three blue chippers in the group and rose to as high as No. 12 in the TennisRecruiting.net national rankings.
“Adrian is an explosive athlete with an aggressive all-court game and powerful one-handed backhand,” Smith noted. “Adrian has shown that he can compete with, and beat, the top players in the country. He plays with a lot of passion and will be an exciting player to watch in our team environment.”
Earlier this November, Chamdani won the Norcal Boys' 18 Jr. Excellence event with a 6-0, 6-0 victory in the championship match. Last winter at the USTA National Open, Chamdani advanced to the championship.
Chamdani was one of 41 boys from across the country to be named a 2014 All-American by the National High School Tennis All-American Foundation. His father, Joseph, played tennis at Washington and Adrian's sister, Mariska, is a sophomore tennis player at Brown. The tennis playing genes run deep in the family as Chamdani's aunt, Milly Chamdani, played tennis at Georgia Tech and his uncle, Edward Chamdani, played at Iowa State.
Mateas, from Braintree, Mass., attended the US Tennis Association Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla., and was born in Romania. He is a blue chip recruit and at one point was ranked as high as the No. 3 prospect in the United States the by TennisRecruiting.net.
Most recently, Mateas took part in the Patuju Junior Open in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and advanced to the quarterfinals with a pair of straight set victories. In October, he played in the Round of 16 at the Pan American ITF in Tulsa, Okla.. He also advanced to the Round of 16 at the Canadian Open Jr. Championships in late August. In the 16 division, Mateas won a doubles gold ball at the Easter Bowl, the Super Bowl of junior tennis.
“Catalin is a rock-solid baseliner with a versatile one-handed backhand,” Smith said. “His father, Calin, successfully developed his technically sound game. Catalin has had success at all levels of junior tennis and has traveled the world on the ITF Circuit. Catalin is one of the most disciplined and mature athletes I have ever recruited.”
Mateas won the New England Sectionals in the Boys' 18 Division as an unseeded 15-year old. His father, Calin, was a national tennis champion in Romania in 1985.
Lin is the third blue chip prospect in the class and is ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the nation by TennisRecruiting.net. The Schaumburg, Ill., product played high school tennis for Schaumburg and on the junior circuit was a quarterfinalist at the Atlanta ITF in early November.
Over the summer, Lin took part in the USTA National Championship and was a quarterfinalist in the consolation bracket. He also played in the consolation bracket championship of the USTA's National Clay Court Championship in July. Last winter, he won the USTA Regional Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. He was previously ranked No. 1 in the 14, 16 and 18 divisions of the USTA/Midwest Section.
A standout in the classroom, Lin was named an AP Scholar. His older sister, Monica, is a sophomore tennis player at Harvard.
“I'm looking forward to bringing in a player like Vincent who is hitting his stride with his game,” Smith added. “He is a natural athlete and very solid from both wings, especially his backhand. Vincent has the game to push the top collegiate players and I feel his tennis is going to take off in college. If Vincent takes advantage of all the resources at Duke, the sky is the limit for him.”
Dickerson, a five-star recruit from Marlton, N.J., is the No. 58 recruit in the country according to TennisRecruiting.net. He won the L4 sectional tournament in August and advanced to the consolation semifinals of the USTA National Selection Tournament in May. During his junior career, Dickerson has collected five USTA silver balls at National Events.
“I couldn't be more excited to have Ryan in our program,” Smith said. “Having missed the National Championships last summer due to injury, I see Ryan as a top player who flew under the radar during the key recruiting events. I really respect that Ryan is a relentless competitor and extremely hard worker. His game has a big upside and Ryan will make an immediate positive impact on our program.”
As a freshman at Mooretown High School, Dickerson led the team to a 33-4 record while playing No. 1 singles. The following year, he helped the program to the state championship before being home schooled to increase his ability to play on the ITF circuit. During his two years at Mooretown, he was twice named the South Jersey Player of the Year and was a semifinalist in the New Jersey State Championship as a sophomore. He is coached by the winningest high school coach in the country, Bill Kingston.
Dickerson's father played collegiate tennis and is currently a high school tennis coach.
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