SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Looking ahead to next year, the Santa Clara men's tennis team has signed three National Letters of Intent. The decorated 2016 class features Robert Seby of Oro Valley, Ariz., Andrew Gu of El Cerrito, Calif., and Connor Garnett of Bellevue, Wash.
"I'm excited about all five commitments for our freshman class," said Santa Clara men's tennis Head Coach Derek Mills. "I think this class is going to get us back into the hunt for the West Coast Conference title and an NCAA Tournament run."
Seby will join the Broncos as a Blue Chip recruit. Currently, the high school senior is ranked No. 22 in the Athletic DNA National Rankings. Seby is no stranger to success at the junior level. When he was 16, he dominated at the U.S. Open National Playoffs, becoming the youngest player to ever win the tournament in the Southwest Region. In his most recent action on the court, the 6-footer made the finals in both singles and doubles at the USTA National Selection Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii.
"When I arrived at SCU on my official visit, I could immediately see that the coaching staff was as driven and competitive as me," said Seby. "This demonstrated attitude, along with their technical knowledge about the game, convinced me that the program would take my game to the next level."
Away from the court, Seby is a National Honor Society member and an AP Scholar with Distinction. At Santa Clara, he plans to major in biology and minor in biotechnology.
"Once I saw that the academics and athletics at SCU met and surpassed my criteria, the decision to choose SCU became very easy," said Seby.
In his free time, Seby enjoys hiking, watching movies and spending time with his friends.
The next future Bronco that signed on the dotted line is Andrew Gu. A native of El Cerrito, Calif., Gu is a five-star recruit that is currently ranked in the USTA top-20 in singles among 18-year-old boys in Northern California. During his high school career, Gu has become an NCS Singles Champion in 2011 and 2012 competing for Albany High School.
"I chose Santa Clara because of its interesting business program and their men's tennis team program," said Gu. "As an athlete, I had a brotherly bond with the guys on the team."
The last signee to join the red and white next season is Connor Garnett, currently ranked as the No. 48 recruit by tennisrecruiting.net. The high school senior is undefeated in three years of high school competition to date and has three state titles under his belt. As a junior last year, Garnett co-captained his high school squad. As an amateur, Garnett was a Level 4 champion and third place finisher at Level 3 competing at Stanford University.
"I chose Santa Clara because it has all the main components I was looking for in a college," said Garnett. "The tennis program looks amazing while having a great business school."
In his spare time, Garnett enjoys golfing and woodworking. Next year in the classroom, Garnett will be majoring in finance and minoring in entrepreneurship. He has aspirations of starting his own business one day.
