Nov. 16, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Vanderbilt men’s tennis coach Ian Duvenhage announced the signing of two high school seniors to National Letter of Intent on Monday.
Inking with the Commodores were Blake Bazarnik (Stevenson High School/Kildeer, Ill.) and Roger Briggs (Montgomery Bell Academy/Nashville, Tenn.). Both players will join the Commodores in the fall of 2010.
Bazarnik is rated as a five-star recruit and is ranked No. 20 nationally and No. 1 in Illinois by tennisrecruiting.net. He has also been ranked as high as No. 18 nationally in 2009. Bazarnik owns an overall record of 74-32 and is ranked No. 29 in the USTA Boys’ 18 Singles rankings.
In 2009, Bazarnik finished runner-up in four tournaments and won the Midwest Designated Tournament in March. He also won the Illinois High School Individual State title as a junior in 2009. Among the schools the 5-foot-10 Bazarnik chose Vanderbilt over were Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan.
“Blake has proven himself to be one of the top players in the nation,” Duvenhage said. “We have been particularly impressed with his attitude and his toughness under adverse conditions, and we look forward to his contributions to Vanderbilt tennis.”
A local product from Nashville, Briggs is rated as a three-star recruit and as the No. 2 player in Tennessee by tennisrecruiting.net. Briggs owns a 20-15 record and has been ranked as high as 51st during his career.
“Roger is a product of our desire to tap local talent,” Duvenhage said. “He is a Nashville native whose ranking in no way reflects his skills. We believe he already possesses the weapons necessary to compete in the SEC.”
Briggs attends Montgomery Bell Academy, which is where current Commodore netter Adam Baker attended. Briggs’ grandfather is Brownlee O. Currey Jr., a 1949 Vanderbilt graduate and a 1947 letterwinner on Vanderbilt’s tennis team. The tennis complex for which Vanderbilt calls home is also named after Currey.
Vanderbilt’s fall season came to a close Nov. 1 at the Crimson Tide Fall Invitational. The Commodores will next hit the courts Jan. 16 when Belmont and Chattanooga travel to Vanderbilt’s campus to play a doubleheader against Vanderbilt.
The Commodores will face Belmont at 9 a.m. and Chattanooga at 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 16.
