Dec. 14, 2007
NORMAL, Ill. - -
Head coach Cris James and the Illinois State men's tennis team will welcome Skip Span of Somers, New York for the 2008-09 season, as he has signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the Redbirds. Span is James' first recruit since becoming head coach of the Redbirds.
"Skip will be able to help our program right away on the court," said James. "He is a left handed, a good athlete and comfortable at the net, which should make him a force for us in doubles."
Span graduated in June and took the year off to attend the Mike Wolf Tennis Academy in Kansas City, Kan. and improve his tennis. The lefthander, who was a 2006 16-and-under National Open Doubles winner, will have four years of eligibility at Illinois State. Span also was a 2005 16-and-under National Open Doubles finalist and was ranked No. 29 in the United States for 14-and-under.
"I chose Illinois State because overall it was the perfect fit," Span said. "I really liked the campus and after meeting with some of the academic advisors I knew this was the perfect academic situation for me. The tennis aspect impressed me the most. The team is very close and goal-oriented. Coach James gave me a great perspective of his coaching philosophy, and how it will translate into the team being as successful as we can be on and off the court."
Coach James feels that Span will be an excellent fit into his vision of Illinois State tennis.
"He is going to bring a high level of dedication and positive energy to our team," said James. "I believe he is striving to be a professional tennis player, which to me says that he will be put in type of work I want to see year-round to improve. I really feel like his work ethic and drive are going to make him an excellent leader for our program over the course of his career."
