NORMAL, Ill. – A pair of tennis standouts have joined the Illinois State men's tennis roster for the upcoming 2021-22 campaign, as announced by head coach Mark Klysner. Dominick Cuchran (Countryside, Illinois) and Arvid Hjalte (Falkenberg, Sweden) have joined the Redbirds and will look to make immediate impacts this season.
Cuchran was ranked as high as No. 8 in the country in his class in 2018 while playing his prep tennis at Lyons Township High School. Ranked as a 5-star on tennisrecruiting.net, Cuchran won the Chicago district qualifier in the 12's, 14's, 16's, and 18's divisions prior to heading to Illinois State. In 2018, he was honored as the USTA Chicago Male Junior Player of the Year.
"I couldn't be more excited to have Dominick join our team this fall," Klysner said. "Dominick will arguably be one of the highest rated recruits we've ever had sign here at ISU. He's had an exceptional junior career and will no doubt have an impressive career with us. He's a consummate grinder in terms of style of play and I think he will transition to the college game very well. He comes from a wonderful family and we are excited to get Dominick here in the fall and get back on court."
Hjalte comes to Illinois State by way of Utah State, where he competed for the past two seasons. During the 2021 season, Hjalte posted a posted a 3-4 singles record at the No. 6 position and recorded a 1-1 doubles record in the No. 3 spot after missing the first half of the season with an injury. As a freshman in 2020, he recorded a 7-13 overall record in singles play, and was 7-10 in doubles play before the season was cut short due to the pandemic. However, he was able to earn All-Mountain West academic honors and was also a Joe E. and Elma Whitesides Scholar-Athlete Award recipient.
During his prep career, Hjalte was ranked No. 4 among Sweden U18 players and had a Universal Tennis Ranking of 13. He was a semifinalist in the Swedish Doubles Championship in 2016 and won the mixed doubles title in the Sweden U16 tournament in 2016 and was in the top-five in the U16 rankings.
"Arvid is going to be such a great addition to our roster this fall," Klysner said. "He's coming here from a strong Utah State program where he played consistently in the lineup and had some huge wins for them. His experience and background of playing at a high level coupled with his desire to play at the next level will only make us stronger. Arvid brings with him strong academics as well which will make him an easy fit for our group of guys. We are looking forward to having him here in the fall and getting to work."
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