Santa Clara Signs Steven Benvenuto to National Letter of Intent

Santa Clara Signs Steven Benvenuto to National Letter of Intent

Nov. 11, 2005

Santa Clara, Calif. - Head coach George Husack announced today that Steven Benvenuto has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Santa Clara University and compete for the Broncos at the beginning of the 2006-07 season.

"We are ecstatic about Steven joining the Bronco program. He is a very big, strong and talented tennis player that continues to impress many on the junior tournament scene," said Husack.

A local native out of San Mateo, Calif., Benvenuto is an elite player who will only strengthen the already deep Bronco squad. He brings an impressive resume to the Mission Campus, as he is an accomplished singles and doubles players. Ranked among the Top-100 high school seniors in the country in singles and No. 14 in the USTA Boys 18s national doubles rankings, Benvenuto is expected to make an immediate impact on the court.

Benvenuto attends Aragon High School in San Mateo and has had one of the best successful prep careers in the local area. The No. 1 player on the varsity squad for Aragon his sophomore through senior years, Benvenuto captured the Peninsula Athletic League singles title as a junior and went on to win the Central Coast Section (CCS) singles championship later that season. Benvenuto became the first competitor from Aragon to capture the section crown and the first player from a public high school to win since Erik Van Dillen, a former world No. 1 in doubles, accomplished that feat back in 1966. For his efforts during his junior campaign, Benvenuto was named the San Jose Mercury Boys Tennis Player of the Year.

Steven Benvenuto, a senior at Aragon High School, will add depth to the Santa Clara men's tennis program next season.


On the national stage, Benvenuto has been impressive as well. In addition to his top status in the 18s Division, last year he boasted a No. 55 USTA national ranking in the Boys 16s. He is also No. 2 in the Northern California Tennis Association (NCTA) Boys 18s doubles ranking and checks in at No. 5 for the Boys 18s NCTA singles rankings. He was also a finalist at the previous two sanctioned NCTA tournaments, the Fremont and Courtside Championships.

"He first began playing national tournaments during his second year in the 16s and it is clear that he has improved given his rise in the sectional and national rankings, as well as his results," said Husack. "He has a big game that will impact our program immediately. I look for a lot of great things to happen to Steven while at Santa Clara."